Lindsey’s CRRG 5K Report

Ok, so I haven’t raced a 5K since the Big Ten Hoops Day 5k…. in 2009. That’s right 2009. It was when I was training for my second marathon and I had run 20 miles the day prior. Needless to say, the PR was outdated and just not even for real anymore. I’ve been so ready to update it for a long time. That race was pre “Out for a Run” days, so there is no race report to look back on. But what I do know is my time was 20:55, and I ran the race at 6:44 pace. This is around the pace (give or take 5 seconds… I’ll be happy if I stay within 5 seconds of that range, up or down) I hope to run the Indy Women’s half in on Saturday. Yikes!

The Carmel Road Racing Group is an event management company that I’ve been working with a bit and when Todd presented the idea of this Thursday Night 5K series for $10 a race- I thought it was a fantastic idea. A chipped 5K that doesn’t mess with your Saturday morning long run and for that price? Why wouldn’t people be into it? So there were two races in August and there is one more Thursday, September 19th.

Marshall duties kept me home for the first of the series, but I was able to run the second one last Thursday and was excited to brush up the 5K PR. I’m not too keen on waiting the entire day to run a race, but whatevs. I went to the gym in the AM and ran 3 miles easy and then before the race warmed up about 2 miles with Glenn.

Keep in mind, this is a small race, (79 people ran) but Glenn won the last one and wanted to win this one. Looking at the times for the first one, I figured I could win for the women too, depending on who showed up. It wasn’t what I really cared about though, I really just wanted that new time.

When I was signing people in, Sarah Overpeck, (who I found out is super speedy) registered and I figured she’d probably take the win after a little chit chat when she told me she was running the Indy Women’s half as a training run and would prob run somewhere between 1:25-1:30. So at that point, I decided to make it my goal to hang with her as best as possible. When we talked prior to the race, she said she has recently found our blog- if you are reading- HI SARAH!

Another person running was Dan, who does speed work on Wednesdays with us. He and I are pretty equal in our pace, when we are both present at speed work, we run together, so I was happy to have him there to help give me a plan of where I should be in the race. I knew running with him would be a realistic pace for me.

Here’s the start! The shirtless guy in front of me is Glenn. Too close. Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher

The race breakdown:

About 30 seconds after we took off, I looked up and realized Glenn was only about 10 steps ahead of me and made a conscious decision to settle down… I was in over my head if I was that close to him and needed to slow down.

I let Sarah take off in front of me once we settled into the mile and ran with Dan through the first mile. After the first mile, Dan sped up and was running with Sarah for the majority of the rest of the race. I had them in a pretty close distance but stayed back. I kept wondering if I had it in me mentally more than anything to move in, but stayed back where I was “comfortable”. I gained a little bit in the last mile, but didn’t have it my head to want it enough to push in and pass.

Here are my Splits:

Mile 1- 5:58
Mile 2- 6:15
Mile 3- 6:23

Results Here

Average pace: 6:14 (thanks to that 5:58- err actually not thanks to… probably would have been quicker  if that first mile would have been slower and the other two faster)

I went out too fast. I should have went out at 6:10 or so and tried harder to be consistent. When I saw 5:58 on my watch, I knew that wasn’t manageable for the whole race. BUT, I haven’t raced a 5K in soooo long and my speed work indicates that I should probably have been able to hold closer to 6:05-6:10 pace. I just need to race smarter.

Somewhere around mile 1.5 probably.  Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher

I gave up a little bit mentally somewhere around 1.75-2.75. It wasn’t totally giving up mentally, but I wasn’t fighting very hard. I was able to pick it up a bit at the very end, but know I could and should have pushed that last mile in closer to 6:10-6:15 pace. I honestly just wanted to be done though. Also, I remember looking at my watch somewhere around 14 minutes thinking- oh good Glenn is still out here suffering and I bet he is working a lot harder than me. He usually does.

Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher

Now- after some good internet stalking I see that Sarah is a very good runner, with a sub three marathon under her belt. She was doing this run as a workout (as was I) but I’m sure she’s got a much speedier 5K in her too. I was happy to have someone to keep me motivated during the run.

Dan and Sarah somewhere in the middle- probably around mile 2. I’m creepin in the back, mostly holding on, thinking about chasing down.   Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher

Finishing it up! Dan was hurting- he’s going to kill his time on the next one for sure.   Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher

Conclusion: 

• A good warm up is key to success in a short distance race like this. I’m glad we did 2 miles prior.
• Trying to negative split a 5K might be more discipline and harder work than negative splitting a distance race. Control that first mile!!
• I want to break 19:00 in this distance, not sure when, but it will by my next goal for the distance. 
• I kind of like the idea of working on the 5K PR. 
• The mental game for a 5K is completely different than the mental game for a half or full marathon. I already knew that, but haven’t put it to action in such a long time.
• The CRRG Merrell 5K Series is pretty awesome. And you should run the next one.