Hustle for Hope 5k - March 17, 2007

I did the Hustle for Hope 5k in Rome today. Finished 13th overall and 2nd in my age group. My time was 22:08, which is my second best 5k time. This was an out-and-back along the river. The temp was 34 (with a "feels like" of 25) with wind, and you felt the "feels like" 25 and the wind. My hands were numb through the entire race, when in cold races they usually warm up after about a mile. The standing around before and after and the race itself took a lot out of me today.

I started out fast for me. At the first mile mark they called out 6:21. I usually do 6:40-7:00. I may have done faster before, but sometimes they don't have mile callers, and I didn't always have my Garmin. This is my fastest 1st mile that I know of. In this race I forget to start my Garmin until about 30-45-maybe 60 seconds after the start, so I didn't bother logging laps or looking at it during the race. I concentrated more on keeping my position, and looking out for the halfway point where I could turnaround.

I let a few people pass me after the first mile (I think 4), and finished strong. The average pace was 7:08, so my last mile was probably around 7:45-8.

As of late, since I know I start out faster than I should, I really pay attention to my 1st mile time, and of course the total 5k time. I haven't been one to pace myself. I've overheard other runners say that they'll take the 1st half conservative, and depending on how they feel at that point they'll decide whether they'll go all out or not. Sounds like a smart plan, but it's just not how I'm wired. With my age you'd think I'd learn, but running races is more of a recent thing for me.