I signed up for a series of 5K races on Daniel Island. The first one I missed due to car trouble. The second I missed because I was out on travel. So I actually made the third race. Barely. The past few days there have been heat advisories. Heat indices 105 - 115. Yesterday started off hot. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to run the race which started at 6:30 PM. Too hot. I did boot camp that morning and was still thinking about running. I made a point to hydrate during the day just in case. In emails back and forth with Greg he convinced me that as long as I was hydrated I'd be fine. I signed up for these races intentionally to force myself to run in the heat. Challenge myself, that sort of thing. So I picked up the girls and went to Daniel Island to pick up my race packet. My wife came to watch the girls and me while I ran. Greg also came from work to support me. As people were starting to show up a thunderstorm blew in. Lots of thunderbolts and lightening. Very, very frightening. I was thinking that it would be stupid to run in those conditions. But as start time near the storm passed leaving cloudy skies, a little drizzle, and thankfully cooler temperatures. In short, ideal race conditions.

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/player/6456968

I started out a little fast but backed off and found my pace. The group of runners all looked fast and Greg warned me that these were hardcore runners and that I might finish last. I was determined to beat somebody. A few people passed me that looked like they might be going a little fast. I maintained my pace and felt pretty good. The last few races the first mile was painful. Aches and pains. Not this race. I felt good the entire run. I had a nice moral victory. I beat the fast guys to the mile mark. By that I mean I crossed the mile mark before they crossed it on their way back to the finish line. I kept an eye on my pace and tried to keep it steady. I did pass a few folks and finished ahead of about 10. As I got close to the finish I realized I might break 30 minutes. I tried to pick it up but I was pretty much maxed out (see heart rate on chart below). I ended up finishing 1 minute and 15 seconds better than my previous best, a new PR of 30:37. All in all, a good race. The girls were there cheering me on and Greg came prepared and handed me a gatorade and some ice towels to cool down. Very nice. I was very happy with my time. I'm getting closer to my goal of breaking 30 minutes even though it is not my focus right now. I'm focused on preparing for the half marathon in February.

Friday morning I met with Greg and about 8 others on the roof of the wellness center. Greg led us in pacing drills. We gave him our desired times (either 1 mile or 5K depending on what we were preparing for) and he told us our half lab and full lap split times. We started with a mile warm up and then started drills. Half lap, walk half, half lap, walk half, 1 lap, walk a lap, 1 lap, walk a lap, 2 laps, walk a lap, 1 lap, walk a lap, 1 lap, walk a lap, half lap, walk half, half lap, walk half and then 3 or 4 laps jogging to cool down. All in all we went about 3 and two thirds miles. I could definitely tell I ran a hard 3 miles yesterday. I'm getting better on judging my pace. Something that comes in very handy on race day. I felt like I did a better job than I had ever done before on keeping my pace in the race. Here's my chart showing pace and heart rate.