This morning I ran the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K. It was 74 degrees with about 85% humidity under cloudy skies. I finished in 20:40 (6:40s), which was 37 seconds off my PR for a 5K set on this course in 2009.
Here are my unofficial Garmin results, which imply I ran more around 6:33s rather than 6:40s:
This morning I did a quick measure of my prior record on this course (20:03). I resolved that I wanted to run a sub-20:00, which equated to sub-6:26s. Having only run once this week (a 10-miler) and only about 29 miles last week (after two 60+-mile weeks in a row), I figured I’d have some fitness in me but I did feel flabby and weaker. The question would be about my cardiovascular health in trying to go faster.
I decided to think this way about the race:
a) the last .1 mile would need to be run in about 45 seconds, which would probably feel fast
b) I should try to manage 6:26s or lower
c) I should avoid the temptation to go too fast in the beginning of the race
d) the first mile has some long inclines from what I remembered, so plan for those
e) the last mile of the race has some steep downhills from what I remembered, so take advantage of those
f) calculate the seconds you need to shave off in light of your prior miles in order to achieve your goal
g) and cut tangents
I tried all of that.
Tangents weren’t that important in this race–I hugged the curb and generally cut diagonals where I could.
The first mile I held back on my pace (it’s downhill from the beginning and the excitement can make you push your speed, only to encounter a steep uphill around the .5-mile mark and drain you), which allowed me better push up the hill (a trick I learned in my last 10K in Central Park).
My Garmin said my first mile was run in 6:33, which was a good sign for what I thought would be my slowest mile, but my slowest mile was actually my second mile, which showed me unnoticeably “sluggisher” and unable to really push my speed much, and which had some unfriendly uphill climbs at least two, maybe three times. (I lost about 5 seconds on the second mile.)
I took advantage of the downhills, but I found that I really couldn’t push myself much. Part of it was mental, brought on by my inexperience training these last couple weeks: I was relatively afraid of what sprinting a bit would mean to the rest of my race. I only gained about 4 seconds relative to my first mile, which surprised me because I thought I would end up with considerably more seconds banked here.
I did do the math. At one point I realized I needed to shave off 18 seconds to match my record, which seemed like just an insurmountable task for me at this pace unless I could capitalize on the hills. When I saw I wasn’t shaving off these seconds on them, I realized pretty close to the end of the race I wouldn’t achieve a PR. I pushed myself as best I could to the end, not even able to do my usual sprint finish (suggesting I put my all into this race). All in all, I think this ended up being my second-fastest 5K (I haven’t run many 5K races), though I may have run faster 5Ks inside longer races in my life.
Before the race, I warmed my legs up with a jog for about 5 blocks to the race start. After getting my bib and checking my baggage, I also stretched then ran a couple sprints up a steep park hill next to the start of the race. Things seemed pretty good in my legs, and I was happy to warm them up. The humidity didn’t seem to be too much of a factor, though it was more humid-feeling than I was expecting. I don’t recall the exact weather from my 2009 PR, but I do remember it as humid and cloudy, perhaps more humid than today was.
The prior day’s caffeine intake led to a very dehydrated body and dry mouth at the beginning of the race. Knowing this would be the case ahead of time, I took in some water right out of bed. I had a 2x caffeine PowerGel just before 7am, then about 10 minutes before the race I had an uncaffeinated PowerGel for some extra help. I took in a couple cups of water before the race and I felt fine. I wasn’t affected by the caffeinated PowerGel during this race (shallow breathing, heart palpitations, etc.), so that was a good thing, and my breathing was relatively measured (though I tried to quicken it to quicken my pace at times).
Anyway, shows to go ya. This race is a good measure of my fitness level and my marathon training goals, especially relative to my banner 2009 year. It implies what kind of focus I need in my next training, both nutritionally and physically. Specifically, I think I need to work some speedwork in more. I still wrestle with doing that, especially considering that I’ve fallen in love with LSD running (“long, slow distance running”). It quickened me for the Boomer’s Run to Breathe PR, but probably not enough for these shorter races. I need to really focus on the Fifth Avenue Mile, which is another favorite race of mine and where it would be incredible if I PR’d this year. Can I do it?