Ocean Drive 5K: I Knew I Had Another PR in Me

Today, I ran the Ocean Drive 5K in South Beach.  Temps were perfect for March, 69-72F with only 66% humidity.  Something I could work with.

I was not sure whether I should push for a PR.  I just got a PR two weeks ago (26:20 in 77F and a headwind); however, from the way I have been running, I suspected this PR was soft. I've been doing my easy runs between 9:50mm and 10mm, and I did my last 13 miler at 2:12, two minutes of my current (but old) HM PR.  So I knew I could break that 26:20 but I did not know by how much.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take my allergy medication on Thursday night and I spent all of Friday and most of last night coughing and sneezing.  I did not feel my best when I went to bed but I decided to shoot for a PR or walk in the process.

I arrived there with an hour to spare to pick up my packet and do a shakedown warmup run.  Here's me as I exited the car and headed for my run.

I'm not really training for anything at this point.  I have a bunch of races piled up all the way to July and since I just came off three marathons in 79 days, my mileage has been good.  All I've been trying to do is continue an average of 50mpw until marathon training begins.  I've also been hitting the XT hard, with kickboxing at least twice a week, weights (bands) three times a week, and yoga.  The XT is helping and I can feel it.

I headed out for a 1 mile run and I was running slower than usual.  Although I felt my chest was a little winded, my nose congestion was gone and that was good.  Overall, I did not know what to expect.

Race:  The race started and we were off.  I tried to line up on the top 20% of the runners because there were a lot of walkers around me, so I did not want to get stuck between them.  A lot of people passed me during the first 0.25 miles but I pass some of them later.  I saw a guy with a Camelbak on his back (full) and a girl with a fuel belt with 4 bottles attached to it (she was also wearing full makeup and dangling earrings). WTF? It's just a 5K!  Still, both were faster than me dang them!

Mile 1:  Mile 1 felt too easy.  I tried not to head out too fast as usual.  However, when I crossed the mile marker, I realized I ran it in 8:08 (I wanted to pace at 8:15).

Mile 2:  As we headed to Mile 2, we got to the first (of only 2) water stations.  They usually have 3 water stations especially in the hot weather, but 2 were enough today.  I sipped a bit and threw the rest over my head.  It felt like it was 75F+ because the sun was out in force.  Who the heck does a race at 8:30am in Miami? Split 8:19 but Garmin recorded 1.02.

Mile 3:  After the turnaround at Mile 2 we headed back down Ocean Drive.  By 2.5 miles I could see the finish line and I don't know whether that's demoralizing or a perk up, but I did not appreciate looking at how much I had left.  I caught another cup of water and threw it over my head.  The weather felt hot and the wind had died down just for me, grrrr.  Split: 8:16 just the number I wanted to see overall.  My best pace here was 6:27mm, wow.

I was able to sprint to the finish at 7:47mm.  Posed for a picture  and headed to the chute.

I finished with a HUGE PR: 25:33, good enough for 17th in my AG.  At the time I left the party at Nikki Beach, the AG had 78 people but there were still people out there.  So I think I did pretty good. 

After 12 years of running (minus 1 year off) and 3 years of racing, I am still surprised at my progress in 2011.  This new PR predicts a sub-2 hour half marathon, which I will be shooting for either in 2011 or 2012.  It also predicts a 4:09 marathon but since I never run perfect during marathons (and I'm planning again to hit 3-4 marathons in 80 days), that looks impossible.  But the training for that?  Bring it on!