Autism Ribbon Run 5K Raleigh NC

Well it was an absolutely perfect day for racing. It was about 50 degrees at start time, there wasn?t a single cloud in the sky, and there was very little wind at all. The Autism course winds its way through down town Raleigh so the course is very flat. There are only a few hills on the course and none of them rise more than 40 feet.

Most of the local elites decided to sit this race out. I am not sure why though. The race starter called out for all sub 5:00 milers to step forward and no one did. So he called for all sub 6:00 milers to come forward. Since my goal was 18:36 I decided to start right on the line.

I was planning on giving it everything I had today. My son is away on a trip this weekend so I only had my daughter in the single stroller. The Single stroller is probably 40 pounds lighter than the 100+ pound double stroller.

The first mile started off way to fast. It is all up a slight hill and people were blowing it out. I saw a couple of kids run a 2:30 first half mile and then stop like they had been shot in the chest. I went out strong to get out of the crowd but I knew this race wasn?t going to be won in the first mile!

I had a 5:50 on the first mile. That was pretty close to where I wanted to be. The next mile was half downhill and half uphill so I decided to make up some ground on the downhill. I ended up passing about 3 people even though I knew they would catch me on the uphill.

Sure enough those people passed me back on the hill and I was a good 10-15 seconds back on first place in my age group. I passed the 2 mile mark in 11:55 though. That is the first time I have ever run two miles in under 12 minutes! 1 goal down 1 more to go!

As we rounded the last turn I noticed that people were dropping like flies. The high initial first mile pace had gotten to everyone.

I looked down at my watch with ¼ of a mile to go. It was in the low to mid 17?s. I was going to have to run a sub 1:10 next quarter mile to hit my goal. I dug in and started my kick as soon as I saw the finish line. Luckily it is an all downhill finish so I was able to build speed quickly. I was kind of shocked because I passed 3 or 4 people in the last 1/10 of a mile.

As I came to the line I didn?t even have the energy to check the clock. I was exhausted. I hit stop on my watch and tried to recover. Once I had caught a breather I checked to see if I had finally reached my all-time goal(Sub 6:00 miles for a 5K, 18:36). My watch read 18:30! I had finally done it.

I was ecstatic that I had finally done it but I also realized that I probably won?t ever go any faster than that. I would love to hit sub 18:00 but I know that I do not have the time to train for that. The difference between 18:30 and 18:00 is just too great.

In the end I was pleased with the race and I won my age group! However, I don?t think I will run as much with the stroller anymore. My kids are getting old enough to run on their own so I would like to do more races with them running instead of riding. I will do one final race with the stroller(Old Reliable 10K jogging stroller race). However, after that I will probably try to focus on the BQ goal.

Splits: At least they were close to even this time!

mile 1: 5:50
mile 2: 6:04
mile 3.1 6:32

1 Miles: 5:50
2 Miles: 11:55
3.1 Miles 18:27

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http://This message has been edited by JasonsDrivingForce (edited Oct-13-2007).

http://This message has been edited by JasonsDrivingForce (edited Oct-14-2007).