Children's Way 5K

Finally, a race at the right time and right place to set me up for a new PR. The Children's Way 5K was my first 5K race since the Celebration 5K in July, where I performed poorly. A new PR was a must since I have been under the wing of my new coach, Coach May, for about a month. Coach May coaches some of the area's top youth distance runners and recently I have been added to the list of pupils he coaches. I have sensed improvement already with the quality of my runs. But now on to the race. It was only a year ago that I did this race and finished in a slow and sluggish time of 27:35, which was my PR at the time. So today was a PR or bust on a fast course through San Marco. The race started at 8:00 AM but I was awake before 6:00 AM, trying to get myself pumped. My dad wasn't here at the race since he was spending the week in Tallahassee, where he competed in a very challenging cross country race, the Prefontaine Forest 5K, where he finished in the top 25% of the field on a course featuring rolling hills on trails covered with loose sand and strewn with dead trees. My mom brought me to this race with plenty of time to warm-up, which I used to my advantage. The weather was cool and I felt almost no humidity. I noticed that the grass was somewhat damp and I wondered if it rained. It turned out that the course had to be "modified" because a road running along the St. Johns River was flooded. Up until the gun went off my mind was filled with doubt, wondering if I wouldn't push as hard since the course was short. But my thoughts were erased and I clicked into my pace for the start of the race. The first mile snaked its way through a town center-like area of San Marco where I saw the new 1st Place Sports store, sandwiched between two boutique stores like itself. My first mile went by fast and felt a little easier but it was too early to tell. The time was the usual 6:45 mile, the pace I've hit for my recent 5K races. On my second mile the pace fell a little off and I clocked a 14:15, my slowest 2 mile since, well, my first race! After I saw the flashy red lights displaying my split, I took off, my mind full of anger and adrenaline. The final turn appeared before me and I kicked it into my last gear picking off people left and right. Then I saw my 3 mile split: 20:45! I did the quick calculation in my head and figured out that I clocked in 6:30 for my third mile, the fastest mile of the whole race. Another thought came upon me, like a slap in the face. I was in PR-ville and with that musing I reached deep into my body to muster all the energy I had left. Cruising in through the finish line my time was 21:30, a time that can speak for itself. After I exited the finishing chute, my mom rushed over to me and gave me a high five. Then came the bad news. It turned out the course was short due to a last-minute modification. Now my europhia I was experiencing left my body and I wanted to find what the real distance was. But I decided I would dwell on that subject later. I headed to the food and there was an assortment of all the food you would find at a party. There was pizza, ice cream, chicken sandwiches, anything that tasted good. This 5K probably had the best festivities and post race refreshments out of any 5K in the area. The awards came and I was very happy to learn that I got first in my age group, receiving another 100 Grand Prix points to thrust me into the lead for my age group in the 2008-09 Grand Prix standings. Overall, I was satisfied with the day and it turns out that the course was only 0.05 of a mile short of 5K, which meant that I would have PR'd if it were the proper distance. My next race is the Freedom 5K this weekend (so I can PR a little bit more) and after that it is the Evergreen Pumpkin Run 5K which I hope to have a big PR in after a month of regimented training. So long and keep running in this good weather!

The Carrabba's Summer Beach Run

Ah, the dreaded Summer Beach Run. Well, that's at least what people have told me. The conditions followed the trend from previous years-hot and humid. And even though the race was postponed two weeks due to Tropical Storm Fay the conditions would have been the same. But one thing that did surprise me was the condition the beach was in. It was packed perfectly and wasn't at all like the torture of the Tour de Pain 4 mile beach run. During my warm up, I noticed a somewhat strong headwind, but it was nothing that would be an excuse for a poor performance. The Summer Beach Run, unlike the Winter Beach Run, is one of the biggest races in Jacksonville and is the oldest footrace in Florida-dating back to the 1960's. Some 1100+ runners toed the line at at 7:00 PM to kick off the race but before we ran we gave a moment of silence to honor long-time Jacksonville-area race organizer John TenBroeck who just that past week lost his battle to cancer at age 67. And for the first time in a long while the cannon wasn't shot by him. After the moment of silence we were all stirred by the firing of the cannon and took off. I was dreading this race and just wanted to get a good week of training in. But I still tried. My approach for this race was just to run an evenly paced race. I tried to fulfill my goal and I went through the first mile in 8:10 and the second one in 16:30. At the turn-around point the change in weather was instantaneous. It went from a moderate headwind to a hot furnace, all in the matter of a few seconds. I wanted to go faster but just couldn't; my legs wouldn't move faster. So I took the last 2 miles at a mid-8:00 pace, the cruise-control I was in. I just wanted to receive my Grand Prix points. I finished in a slow and disappointing 43:34, good enough to get 5th in my age group, missing 4th place by about 30 seconds. I stuck around to receive my portion-controlled Carrabba's post race meal and finally didn't hear my name announced for an award, another humbling experience for thyself. But on another note my dad finished in 38:55, a very respectable time (two minutes faster than his performance in this race two years ago) that he managed to muster despite having the same desire I had to run this race-none. He placed in the top 130 finishers in this field of 1100+. Now the weather is cooling (very slightly) and I am reaching possibly the best weeks ahead of me as I get taken under the wing of my new instructor-Coach May, who also coaches some of the best youth distance runners in the Jacksonville area. So long and see you at my next race, the Children's Way 5K!