Well, this was it - I hadn’t run since the marathon a month ago, and my first time out was to be a 5K. I was pretty sure that it would be a PR, since my previous record was 32:21 (a 10:24 pace) set back before I started running seriously. The only question that I had was whether or not my ITB had healed up enough, especially with the recent ski trip I’d taken.

Anyway, I get out to the JCC at about 7:30am for an 8:00am start and almost immediately meet up with Alex. He’s come a long way in the last six months, going from running 10:00 miles to a much faster 7:00 pace. We chat and stretch for a while, then head for the start. There are probably 700-800 people all told, and we’re relatively near the front but still behind a lot of slower traffic.

The horn blows, and we’re off to music from Pulp Fiction. Gotta love Evil’s music choices. It takes a minute or so to clear traffic, but then we can run freely. Alex says that I should run with him and drop off if I have to. Heh - nice theory. I stay with him for a couple of minutes, then he powers up the first hill and I … don’t.

Actually, I do somewhat. The first mile and a half or so is uphill, and I manage an 8:22 pace. This was really faster than I should have gone. My legs felt great, even my calves, but I was running out of steam. No real intense cardio workouts for a month have taken their toll. I keep powering on, and as the course begins to flatten out I see the small water stop. Grabbed a cup and slowed to a walk for 30 seconds to drink and catch my breath. It was hard, but I started up again on schedule and kept pounding away. Even with the break, the second mile was at a 9:16 pace.

By mile three, I’m feeling exhausted. I’m breathing hard, and even though its mostly flat or slightly downhill, I just don’t have it in me. I didn’t walk like in mile two, but my time was actually slightly worse at 9:19. The last tenth was a fun sprint though. My final time was a decent 27:11, which gives me an 8:43 pace. That’s better than I thought I was doing, but if I’d gone out smarter and taken an extra minute for that first mile I could probably have shaved one off each of the next two.

Ah, well - there’s always the next race. This will be a good baseline for my performance improvements over the summer, at least. And I PR’d by over five minutes, so I really can’t complain :-)

Calories burned: 427
GPS Log

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