5K

I got a call from Matt on Thursday asking me if I'd like to enter the Heartbeat 5K that his hospital sponsors each year. But here was the catch - he wanted to work it into our regular Saturday long run. So we'd run for awhile and then do the 5K on somewhat tired legs.

On Saturday morning, I woke early and started my regular long run. Matt met me at Flag Pole Hill after I got in 7 hilly miles and then we headed off to Presbyterian Hospital for the race. But we miscalculated the distance to Presby so we had to really push it to get to the race by the 8:30 start time. We arrived at the race with 5 minutes to spare and I was dripping wet somewhat dehydrated mess. And I was already tired. I had 11 hilly miles on my legs and I'd basically already run close to my race pace just to get there. So my expectations for the 5K were really low. My goal was to average 8 minute miles or better (remember, I am a really slow runner!) and to not fall apart at the end of the race. I pounded some water and got myself together for the race.

I started the race and actually felt OK - I love that race day magic! The first mile had a nice downhill to it so I pushed it a bit. But you always pay for those downhills because the 2nd mile was mostly uphill. I made the turn to head back to the hospital for the last mile and knew that we had a gentle downhill with a pretty nice uphill right at the finish. At this point I was just trying to hold it together and maintain my pace. I was still passing a few runners that went out to quickly, but I knew I could not hold the pace much longer. I made the turn to the finish just as Matt yelled out - "Krejci is dropping the hammer!" (of course, he'd already finished by now) and finished with a 24:31.

I was happy with my effort and frankly really surprised. I did not think I could run that fast after already putting in 11 miles before the race. I've only run one other 5K (2 years ago) and I finished this one over a minute faster. I am not a huge fan of the 5K distance. Running 3.1 miles at a fast pace (for me) really freaking hurts! I'm not kidding when I say I'd rather run a marathon than a fast 5K.

After the race we ran back to my house and then Matt continued on to his house. I got in a total of 16 miles - 3 of which were really fast - and 3 of which were close to my race pace. And in the hills at Flag Pole and it was a pretty good training run. Next weekend is training camp weekend on the WS100 trail. I can not wait to get out there and see the course for myself. I am incredibly excited. 40 more days until WS100.