Matanzas 5K

January 24, 2009, the day I sought to break my 5K PR on the acclaimed "fastest 5K course in the South" at the Matanzas 5K. Unlike last year, this year I was running fewer races with more training, almost guaranteeing a PR at every event I run in. My last 5K was the disappointment at Gator Bowl, where I was plagued by the wind and the unseasonable weather, causing me to finish in 20:51. Now I was at Matanzas, hoping to improve on my previous time and maybe snag some hardware in the ultra-competitive 11-14 age group. The race is a fast course through the heart of St. Augustine. Since the race has a later 9:00 AM start, I managed a good 9.5 hours of sleep even though I woke up slightly groggy and was retaining my stuffed up nose from the previous day. We were out the door by 7:20 AM at my command and arrived at the race too early, like always, with a good hour to spare. I wandered around, slightly comatose, for a little bit and eyed the awards. First place received a big Matanzas 5K glass mug with Matanzas 5K coffee, while 2nd and 3rd received slightly smaller mugs, and 3rd through 6th received even smaller-sized mugs. It looked like a parade of Russian nesting dolls. Next to me, my dad was eying his small "Masters Super Clydesdale" award, a group for men over 40 years old and over 225 lbs. This division usually has a slow contingent of about 30 or so runners, none of whom has broken 23 minutes for a 5k in the past several years at this race, which makes sense because most men that old and that big have trouble walking to the fridge. My dad looked to finish first in this division, giving him some road race hardware for the second consecutive month. About 20 minutes later, I met up with my coach and teammates, and we began our warm up shortly thereafter. When it came to be about 5 minutes until the start of the race, I stripped my outer layers and positioned myself in the massive field of about 1300 runners. I positioned myself farther back deliberately to help prevent me from going out too fast in the first mile. Unfortunately, the start was divided by an island in the middle, making for a very congested and slow start. Once the gun went off it took me a good 10 seconds to reach the timing mats and I could tell that lots of weekend warriors had positioned themselves too far toward the front of the field. Dad and I wasted a hefty amount of energy bobbing and weaving through the slow crowd, but once I got into the open I felt fine. The course brought us along A1A, passing the St. Augustine waterfront and Bridge of Lions. The first mile popped up along the horizon quickly and I passed it in around 6:40 gun time. By then I was widening my lead on my dad as the course veered to the right and gave us a tour of the neighborhoods of St. Augustine. By now I felt the onset of fatigue and struggled to keep up the pace. The course passed by Flagler College and soon the second mile came, which I passed in about 13:10. I started suffering in the 3rd mile and just wished for the race to be over, ending every second of agony. Finally, the finish came into my line of view and I sprinted towards it, crossing the line in 20:36. I quickly exited the finish chute and waited for my dad to cross the line, which he plodded through in a disappointing 21:52, 30 seconds away from his PR last June. Following suit, he left the finish chute as quickly as he could and headed to the parking garage, disregarding my "hellos." Dad emerged about a minute later, angry with himself for his performance. We escaped to the food tent and then to the gym where awards and raffles would be presented. I was sort of pleased with my performance, reminding myself that this was my fastest 5K on a USATF certified course. After about 40 minutes of analyzing my race, I got to check the results. In my very competitive 11-14 age group, the top 3 places were taken up by 14 year olds (high school runners). Fourth place was a 13 year old, fifth was my teammate Steven, and then I placed 6th, coming home with a small glass mug reading "Age Place" on the front. My dad's award came at the end of the ceremony and he received the "Masters Super Clydesdale" award (another small glass mug) with a pout on his face. So it proved to be an OK day for me and a bad day for Dad, but the fact that we both received awards for our efforts brought back the feeling of good ol' hardware. Now that I am entering a jam-packed race season, I'm trying to choose races that matter. It starts with my first indoor track meet in Gainesville next weekend, where I will compete in the 3000 and mile, gunning for a PR in both. My next race after that won't be until February 21st, when I will be doing the Pirates on the Run 10K in Fernandina Beach, and then the Ortega River Run 5 Miler the following weekend. It's that time when I pick up my training for the important racing events before the weather starts warming up, bringing us the inevitable hot and humid Florida spring and summer. So long and keep (thinking of) PRing!