Running Results - Hy-5K
It was time for the first 5-K of the year. The Hy-5K is out at my place of employment, which means that it is a nice flat loop course. Weather conditions were optimal; not too humid, nice cloud cover, not too hot. It was a little crowded right at the start but it soon cleared out.
My goal was to finish between the 9 minute pace sign and the 10 minute pace sign. I did. This year the fancy chip timer worked so I can tell you with confidence that I had a chip time of 29:54, which was good for 24th in my age group. My splits were 9:58 and 19:58, but those are both in clock time, not chip time. I averaged 9:39/mile. I didn't walk for the first two miles, and then more or less fell apart in the last mile, with 3 short walks and one longer walk. I redeemed myself somewhat by digging for fire and sprinting the last 150 meters of the race.
Overall this was slightly better than last year's time. Perhaps more importantly, even though it was my first race of the year it would have easily been my second best time in 2012, behind only my 29:03 PR.
I went running fifteen times prior to this race for 26.8 miles total. Only two of those were longer than a 5-K, and both of those were fartlek sessions, so this was really my first long run of the year. However, I also biked 7 days for a total of 97.9 miles. That may not have helped the sprinting much, but it sure didn't hurt the resistance to pain, which for me is almost always the limiting factor. If my legs don't hurt, I don't have to walk. If I don't walk, I get better times. So biking saves my knees, and indeed today my knee didn't hurt at all; it was all calf and foot pain.
The next confirmed race is the Color Run on June 8.
My goal was to finish between the 9 minute pace sign and the 10 minute pace sign. I did. This year the fancy chip timer worked so I can tell you with confidence that I had a chip time of 29:54, which was good for 24th in my age group. My splits were 9:58 and 19:58, but those are both in clock time, not chip time. I averaged 9:39/mile. I didn't walk for the first two miles, and then more or less fell apart in the last mile, with 3 short walks and one longer walk. I redeemed myself somewhat by digging for fire and sprinting the last 150 meters of the race.
Overall this was slightly better than last year's time. Perhaps more importantly, even though it was my first race of the year it would have easily been my second best time in 2012, behind only my 29:03 PR.
I went running fifteen times prior to this race for 26.8 miles total. Only two of those were longer than a 5-K, and both of those were fartlek sessions, so this was really my first long run of the year. However, I also biked 7 days for a total of 97.9 miles. That may not have helped the sprinting much, but it sure didn't hurt the resistance to pain, which for me is almost always the limiting factor. If my legs don't hurt, I don't have to walk. If I don't walk, I get better times. So biking saves my knees, and indeed today my knee didn't hurt at all; it was all calf and foot pain.
The next confirmed race is the Color Run on June 8.