Form Follows Fitness 5K

 

This past Saturday I ran my first 5K after completely recovering from my grade 2 calf sprain in my right leg.

The 5K race I ran was the second annual Form Follows Fitness 5K, held in Downtown Dallas.  What made this race really fun was that I was given the opportunity to organize a team from my work to run with and with only three days notice, I was able to put together a team of 11 people to run with.  Now, once the race started, it was every person for themselves, so we didn't all finish together, but we all finished, including four who had not competed in a 5K before!

Part of our 11 member team.  I am on the far left.

It was 34 degrees at race time, and there were about 1200 people or so who raced, so it was a nice event to run.  I think it could have been a larger event had the Ft. Worth's Cowtown Marathon not been happening at the same time.

The course itself was relatively easy, with a nice downhill start that allowed everyone to build up steam.  It was the last 800 or so feet that was the biggest pain.  All uphill with what I am guessing was a 15 to 20 degree incline!  It was at that point that I started slowing down.

I wasn't sure what I would run as far as time goes in this race, but I had set a goal of 24 minutes right before the start.  After the runs I had the week leading up to this race, I knew I'd be able to run close to the pace I'd need to set, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to sustain that pace.

But I did maintain close to that pace the entire race!

Now the only thing wrong with this picture is that it shows me going 3.17 miles, because I started the tracking app on my phone when the horn sounded for the race.  I was way behind the starting gate, so I am going by the time the gps tracking app shows me at 3.10 miles, and not the official results.

Here is what I believe I ran:

 Yes, that is a 5K distance in 24 minutes and 26 seconds, which is 4 minutes and 58 seconds better than my previous PR of  29:24. set at the Turkey Trot held in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day, 2012.  That is a new PR!

Here are the official results for me from the race:

So, overall a great race for me.  I am now 100 percent fully healed and I appear to be faster than ever.  I am really looking forward to pushing myself even more.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great rest of the day!

Today's Spirit Run! 5K Results and Thoughts

Today I ran the Spirit Run! 5K in Richardson, TX and what a great time and a great race it was!  The course was laid out so that we ran on city streets and on concrete paths in a local park at at four different spots, local high school students were set up to cheer on the runners.  One high school had their drum line, cheerleaders and I believe members of their dance team cheering us on, while the other high schools represented had their varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders cheering.  It really was a cool experience to run the gauntlet of the cheering sections that had been set up.

The day itself was very windy, with temperatures in the mid 60's.  In the shade it was actually quite chilly.  I had thought to wear my colder weather gear (long compression pants and long sleeve compression shirt), but had decided against it.  I'm glad I did.  Once we started the race and found our way to the sunshine, it warmed up quickly.  For a while it was partly cloudy, but by the race's end most of the clouds had dispersed.

I decided that I wanted to try and push my pace this race and see about accomplishing a goal I had set, which was to run this 5K in under 30 minutes.  I set the coaching part of my iPhone app I use, MapMyFitness, to track my pace and it would announce the pace I was running every minutes.  The pace I set was a 10:15 mile pace; I realize that I would not really make the goal I set with that pace, but my thoughts centered on running faster than that pace.

I ran this race with a friend of mine and we sort of fed off of each other during the race.  We kept up with each other until the last quarter mile or so.  I started sprinting the very last part as I really wanted that goal.  We both did really well this race and both of us set new personal records!  I was very proud of him as this was the fastest pace he had run yet.

So how did I do?  See for yourself.

Not too bad for my third 5K race!

I finished this race in 30:14 and finished 5th out of 12 racers in my age bracket and 95th out of 317 overall.  I came close to my goal, but despite running a 9:44 mile pace, at 6.15 mph, I didn't hit it.  

Blame it on running faster than I ever have, but I forgot to pause and save right after crossing the finish line, hence the longer than normal 5K distance!

Then after looking at the split times of this race I figured out why.

The race split times.  Notice the time for mile three.

My mile three split was above a 10 minute mile pace.  That one time is what cost me my goal.  Between mile marker two and mile marker three was a circular ramp we had to run up and move from the lower level of the park to the higher level of the street.  This was a difficult time for a lot of runners and for my friend and I, this part of the race course slowed us down and it was this small section that cost me my goal.

Like I stated earlier, I didn't make my goal, but I did set a new personal record (PR).  The last 5K race I ran back in October, the Lost Dog 5K, I ran it in 33:04.  Well, today I ran the Spirit Run! 5K in 30:14.  I shaved 2:50 off my last personal record!  Not too shabby.

So what's next for me?  Looks like it will be the Turkey Trot in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.  It's the largest and oldest Turkey Trot 5K in the nation and they are expecting something like 45,000 runners!  Now that will be an experience I am looking forward to!  My goals for that race?  Run it in under 30 minutes.  That's my biggest goal right now.  When I get that one down it will be time to really turn on the afterburners and move faster.

Thank you for reading.  Have a great rest of the day!

My Next 5K -- The Spirit Run! 5K

This Saturday, November 10, I am running in the Spirit Run! 5K event in Richardson, TX.  It's a local event for me, which is a definite plus.  It also had a discount code available which allowed me to pay half the normal cost.  Again a plus!

What sets this event apart is the fact that at various points on the race course, there are local high school bands, cheerleaders and dance team members cheering the racers on with cheers and music.  At the end of the event the runners get to choose who had the best cheering section.  I believe that this will be one of the very few races I run in that I will not wear my headphones and listen to music to run.

Here is a video of the event.  I believe it is from last year.

Here is a map of the course I will be running.  The best thing about this course is that this course is my normal course!  I run this at least once a week!  Talk about an advantage! 

Right in My Backyard!

The other good thing about this race is that I will be running it with a good friend of mine.  For the first time I will have somebody to race against I know.  Since he's a better runner than I am it'll be even more challenging for me.  I promise this to you: I will do my best. 

I'll let you know how I did later on Saturday.  If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by and cheer us on! 

Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the day!

Lost Dog 5K Race Results

Today I ran the Lost Dog 5K put on by the White Rock Racing Group.  This was the first time I have run in colder weather and it was downright chilly!  At race time it was 46 degrees and the long compression pants and long sleeve compression shirt helped out tremendously!

The course itself for those of us running the 5K was straight and simple enough.  Down one street for a little over 1.6 miles and back for a total of 3.1 miles while those running the 20K race kept going.

I had two goals again for this race: the first was to again finish without stopping to walk at anytime.  The second was to keep at least a pace of at least 11:00 minutes per mile. I am happy to say I accomplished both of my goals!

Here is the map of the event with my split times:

So This is taken from my MapMyFitness Page.

So how did I do?  Well, I won my age division, my weight division and placed 5 in the Masters division.  (And to be honest, it was a smaller race, but I am not trying to downplay my results; just being forthright with the facts.)

I am ranked 5th in this image.

I have to admit that I was really happy with my time in this race.  I actually bested my time from the Plano Balloon Festival 5K by a full one minute and twenty-three (1:23) seconds!  Yes, a new personal best!

So overall it was a great race for my second 5K race ever.  A new personal best time, a first place finish and a fifth place in the masters division, and even a trophy!

It's a small trophy, but still, not bad for my second 5K!

I'm not sure what my next race will be, but as soon as I know, I'll post it on here.  Until then, have a great rest of the day!