Race Report - CRRC Winter Run 3 Miler

"I've never even run a 5K at a Boston qualifying pace"

Well, that certainly didn't take long. It wasn't a 5K, but 3 miles is pretty darn close.

I've been looking at a few training plans for my running this year, one of which is the Furman plan outlined in "Run Less, Run Faster". They have a half marathon plan as well, which I might use in the spring. And to get your base pace for this plan, it suggests that you do a 3 mile run as a speed test. Well, Meredith was doing the 15 mile run anyway, and what do I discover, but that there is also a 3 miler! Once the weather looked beautiful, it seemed clear that this was the time and place to do it. My biggest decision was whether to wear a watch or not - do I pace myself, or just go? I decided to be brave and go watchless. And soon after I sent her off on the 15 miler, it was time to toe the line and get underway.

This was a small race - maybe 50 people or so? I lined up just a couple rows back at the start, trying to make sure I didn't have too many people to dodge on the way out. Once we got spread out a bit, I found myself about 12 people back from the leader. And then a funny thing started happening...I'd pass one, then another, then another. By half a mile in, I was sitting in 5th place. I've never ever run close to the front of a race, regardless of size, and I didn't really know how to react. The first and second place guys were looking very strong, then there was one more guy maybe 20 meters ahead, one woman, and then me, sitting one place off the podium! By the halfway turnaround, I had caught the woman, but everything else stayed about the same.

Unfortunately, right after the turnaround, another guy came FLYING by, passing myself and the third place runner like we were standing still. That took the wind out of my sails a bit, knowing that I'd have to pass two guys to get in the top three, and feeling like I was redlining already. At that point, I started to accept that a podium finish was probably out of the cards, and I concentrated on just running strong. (With maaaaybe a couple glances over my shoulder, just in case.)

As we climbed the hill back toward the finish, I was definitely giving my all, and when I turned the corner to see the clock, I was shocked to see it almost two minutes earlier than I had estimated. It showed 21:55, and I tried to sprint in the last few meters under 22 minutes, but couldn't quite manage it. Still, I was ecstatic at the time, and pretty darn happy to be in the top 5 guys.

Time: 22:03 (7:21/mile)
Place: 5th male, 6th overall, 1st age group

Yes, I "won" my age group, though there were no awards for it in the 3 miler. I guess that makes sense, since it's so small a race, but it's still too bad!

It still feels bizarre to have run a race where I KNEW what place I was in the whole time. It's a whole different feeling and strategy than I've ever dealt with before. And yes, that pace would qualify me for Boston if I could just hold it for a measly 23.2 miles more.

I find myself wondering what happened in this race. Was it the fact that I didn't check my pace, and just went with it? Is it that I've been doing more core/upper body work? Is it that I've lost 15 pounds from my Ironman weight? This was 21 seconds/mile faster than my best 5K, and that must have come from somewhere. The only scary bit? The Furman plan says to add 35 seconds/mile to get your half marathon goal pace. Um, that's a 7:56. Paces starting with sevens scare me! Here's hoping that dreaming big can pay off...