Remembering my first Steamboat 15K

Workout notes: weights plus 5K training run.
Weights: rotator cuff,
pull ups: 10-15-15-10
incline press: 10 x 135, 10 x 150, 10 x 140
military press: 10 x 85 barbell standing, 7 x 50 dumbbell (standing), 10 x 85 barbell standing.
rows: 3 sets of 10 x 60 dumbbell (single arm)
headstand (better)
abs: 2 sets each: 24 crunch, 12 twist crunch, 10 yoga leg lifts

run: treadmill, warmed up with 10:45 mile (5.3 up every 2 minutes to 10 minutes), 6.7 to 15, 6.8 to 17:30 (1.75 miles), 6.9 to 2 miles (19:40) 7-7.1-7.2-7.3 to 3 miles (28:04) then 3.11 (5K) in 28:56. (17:16 for 2 miles)

Steamboat 15K
I am doing the 15K for the 12’th time this year; I have done 10 of these as a runner, 1 as a walker. But only twice was it a race that I actually aimed for and those there the first two. Other times: it came as I had prepared for something else or had finished an ultra beforehand.

The event draws grizzled club runners. While the 4 mile event is the elite event with prize money, it also draws a lot of new people and causal runners. So the front of the pack as intense competition as many “home for the summer” college runners attempt to mix it up with the professionals. And the competition for the age group awards is also intense. But the mid pack is very slow; in fact, it is often the case that the mid pack of an age group in the 15K runs a faster pace than the midpack of the same age group of the 4 mile, even though the course is more than twice as long and features two very tough climbs.

Well, in my first I was psyched, tapered and ready to go! It was warm (started at 7:30 in those days, or was it 7:45?) and I lined up right behind the 7 minute per mile sign, as that is what I hoped to average. My best 5k of the year (up to then) was 19:53. When the race started, it took me 9 seconds to get to the start line.

At first I was a bit annoyed at the “lined up too far in front” folks slowing me down. I didn’t do too much weaving though and I was dismayed to find my first mile to be in the 7:20 range. And it just never got better.

I kept on going hard though I got more and more depressed and angry as the race progressed. Yes, I was behind my intended pace (22 minutes per 5K segment) but…I found myself catching ..and passing (?) rivals. I had underestimated the effects of heat, humidity and the brutality of the course (by road standards). I remember telling a rival that I had passed (and who had gotten me back) “I got nothing left” as we headed into the last part.

I tried to pick it up in the last part but all I felt was pain ..physical and emotional. The data:

1:08:22 overall place: 183/844 5K segments (last 5K is net downhill) 22:50/23:05/22:27, age group place: 29/71

For this race, that wasn’t that bad. But my TIME was appallingly slow; I remember crying out “I am tired of SUCKING!” afterward.

The next year: I was recovering from an injury lay-off and consistent Achilles problems. I was healthy enough to do the race and while my time was actually a bit faster, my place was a bit worse. Reason: overall times were about a minute faster, due to the day being much cooler than 1998. I remember one of my rivals telling me that I had “kicked ass”…what I do remember is that I wore newish shoes and they gave me a bloody blister on my left bunion. In fact, my left shoe had a very visible blood stain on it after the race. My official time was something like 15-20 seconds slower due to my lining up further back.

1:07:53 5K segments 22:38/23:01/22:13

Note the pattern of my SECOND 5K segment being the slowest one. In the 10 times I did this race as a runner, my second 5K was the slowest 8 times. The other 2 were cases where I walked a bit of the final 5K.

Anyhow, I am going to try to do my best. What happens? Who knows? I just hope that I parcel out my energy wisely and keep going in that final 5K.
Averaging my past data suggests going out at just under 10 minutes per mile and expecting something like 30:20 for the first 5K, 30:45 for the second and who knows for the 3’rd? We shall see.

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