Longest Day 5 Mile Report

Rickshaw · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 2:16 pm

I did an interesting race yesterday: the Longest Day 5 Mile, scheduled for sunset on the summer solstice. It proved to be a ton of fun. It was a real scorcher of a day all day, with highs in the upper 90's, and I was pretty worried about the heat. Fortunately the temperature cooled a little by sunset, and it was also cooler along the bay where the race was, so temperatures were in the mid-70's for the race. There was also a nice breeze, so it wasn't too bad.

Goals: My 5 mile PR is 34:21 (the 2004 Runworks Virtual 5 Mile Race). Last month's 10K, which was under nearly ideal conditions with strong competition pushing me the whole way, predicts a 33:19. For this race I wasn't feeling as sharp, and I knew I'd probably be running mostly alone, so I figured something around 34 minutes would be good, maybe more like 35 minutes considering the weather.

The course is an out-and-back, with one big hill at the beginning/end. You run up, over, and down the other side on the way out, and do the whole thing again on the way back just before the finish. Ah, a hill finish... should be exciting!

There were maybe 50 to 100 people at the race, and it was age and sex handicapped. Women and older runners got a head start of up to 7 minutes, while "fast" guys like me started last. There were no mile markers and my Nike speed/distance monitor is being repaired, so I had to judge my pace by feel the whole way.

I started with the maybe 10-20 guys in the fast group, and tried to take it a little easy over the hill and through the first mile or so. I was surprised to overtake most of the field who'd received a head start within the first 10 minutes or so. I passed a guy after about two miles, and he was the last person I saw for a long time. I'd passed all the slower people, and everyone else was very spread out, so it was empty and lonely out there. I kind of spaced out at the turn-around, and forgot to count the number of people ahead of me, but I think I was running in about 10th position. My split at the turn-around was 17:09.

On the way back, I didn't see anyone for a long time. I kept fading a little, and then catching myself and pushing the pace back down. There were a few curious people out walking their dogs, but that was about it. After a long time, maybe around 4 miles, I saw someone WAY up ahead, a long, long way off. I don't know if he'd started with me and was now fading, or if he'd gotten a head start. Very slowly I reeled him in, but he was WAY out ahead. I finally closed on him as we hit the base of the big hill we had to go up and over before the finish.

I have to say, I kicked some butt on this hill! I dug in and pushed it hard, and quickly caught and passed the guy I'd been chasing for so long. "This hill is killing me!" he screamed after me. Then I pushed on, but my breathing was getting ragged. Suddenly, there was another guy! I sped up to catch him to, closing on him agonizingly slowly as we both muscled up the hill. I thought that if I could catch him before the crest of the hill, I could hold him off on the downhill, so I gave it everything I had to run him down. I got him right before the top, except surprise! It was a false top, which I should have remembered from the start of the race. I didn't have the energy to keep up the effort, and this guy started to repass me, until I pushed it again and just floored it up to the top.

My breathing, which had been a pretty solid 2-2 rhythm this whole time, was now totally crazy. I don't think I was breathing in any rhythm at all, I was just gasping randomly. But the important thing was that I crested the hill and held off this second guy. Then, as I careened crazily back down the hill, within sight of the finish, I saw a third guy! He was pretty far ahead, with real estate running out fast, but I thought I might catch him. So I leaned forward and basically fell down the hill. I was gaining on him, but he heard me coming and picked up his pace a little more. Finally back on the flat, with only maybe 20 yards to go, I was right on his heels. It was an all-out sprint to make it to the line first. I thought I'd been maxed-out this whole time over the hill, but I uncovered another gear and positively blasted out the last stretch, edging out guy number 3. Finish time: 34:21.

I enjoyed this race a lot, and the handicapped format made it very interesting and quite unlike most races I've done. I think I finished something like 7th overall out of 75 or so people, which is pretty good after taking the handicapping into account! I also had nearly dead-even pacing despite having no pace feedback: 17:09 out, 17:12 back. And I *tied* my PR. Given the circumstances, that's definitely a result I can be happy with.