Notes
Am I happy with this race?
Eh, not really. As in, its always hard to run a race and know you ran the exact same event 45 seconds faster a year earlier.
Am I unhappy with this race?
Eh, not really. As in, I haven't actually been training very much, and it took me a long time into January and February to try to convince myself i wanted to, and even then it wasn't adequately focused. And I did a lot of skiing instead of a lot of running this winter.
I could list a bunch of factors that might have contributed to today's race, such as it was 18 degrees at race time and I never felt like I got warm enough to be race ready, or, we battled a brutal headwind for about 2 miles of it. But really I'm just not particularly 5k fit right now. Its as simple as that. So I'm not going to blame those other factors, and just admit that. Do I think I'm slightly more fit than my time today showed? Yes, I do. And I think that's a legitimate thought. However, I do NOT think I'm a lot fitter than my performance showed.
So, I'm not sure what to think about it. It happened.
It was fun, my friends came out to watch, and I'm really glad I did it. Also, the beauty of having absolutely no running friends around here, is none of them have any idea what a 5k means, and they just all think I'm so fast and god's gift to the running world. Its always good to have fans, I suppose.
I like to race, and I thoroughly enjoyed it this morning. There's nothing like putting on racing flats and toeing the line and putting your body to the test.
Overall I'm not thrilled with the result, but I didn't expect much different, so I wouldn't say I'm disappointed either.
Additional thoughts:
I'm trying to decide what to do from here. I think right now what sounds like the most fun is to try to be really hot on the USATF team circuit this summer: Brian Kraft memorial 5k, Mid-summer mile, torchlight 5k, etc. I think that would be really fun, especially because I won't spend the summer at camp for the first time since the year after my senior year of high school, and I will actually be around for those races. And then, perhaps try to tackle the TC 10 again this fall? At least right now, that seems the most appealing to me.
If that is in fact what I do, then probably right now, the beginning of March, is when I should be starting anyway. If I don't want my mile or 5k fitness to be peaking until the end of May, or even perhaps into July (??), putting in a good March, April, May, and June is probably what I would design. I'm not going to lie and say that that was my plan in January and February, because it wasn't. I just wanted to ski instead of run, and then do insanity with friends instead of run. And I'm not disappointed with either of those decisions. However, I will admit that they were decisions I made, and I was not making them based on a desire to be race ready for any particular race this summer. However, that being said, looking forward, I think I could set myself up nicely for hopefully a couple PR's this summer, if thats what I choose. We shall see. Still very undecided.
Other thoughts..... In the past, my lack of running fitness has always coincided with a lack of feeling physically fit in general i.e. coming back from an injury after not much training, beginning to train again after time away from a season, etc. However, right now I'm in a different place than that. While I am not particularly running or 5k fit, I feel stronger, more explosive, and in a different way more physically fit than I ever have before, from a muscle or strength physique standpoint. So, that's just an interesting thought I've had lately. I'm still at a point in my life where I want to race fast and PR, and running is my first love, so I wouldn't trade that kind of fitness for any other kind. However, I'm not unhappy in a way that has often accompanied lack of running fitness in the past.
Food for thought.