Tour de Pain 5K

There is no better feeling than falling asleep in your own bed in own room. I say this because it has been a whirlwind of travel these past two months. After one month in CT it was time to get even further from home as we hopped across the pond and began a 12 day cruise through Europe. Upon our return in the States, I took part in the 5-day Princeton Cross Country Camp. Needless to say, I was a prime candidate for DVT (Deep Vein Thrombrosis) as we immediately began the tedious and grueling 16-hour drive down the Eastern Seaboard. We arrived to a still fully intact home in the wee hours of the morning (4 AM). But it never felt so good to be back home in good ol' Ponte Vedra.

And now that I was back home, I also had to suffer through the unbearable heat and humidity in my training and racing. Still, I wanted to see where my fitness was before Cross Country (XC) season was underway. So I decided to sign up for just the Tour de Pain 5K and see if I could take a stab at my PR set in July in CT (in perfect conditions to boot). Once at the Baymeadows venue for the day's 5K, I quickly reevaluted my goal to be sub-20, which would be a Florida PR. I got a decent warm up and was quickly soaked with sweat as I lined up at the starting line. The start was delayed a bit but eventually the cannon fired and many runners took to the concrete, hazy jungle that unfolded before them. I got into a good position and held a decent pace at the beginning. I came through the first mile in 6:10, as my breathing became heavier, an indication of the oppressive humidity. The conditions taxed me more in the second mile, as I made an attempt to slog past runners. I clocked the second mile in 6:30 and it seemed my sub-20 hopes were leaving my grasp. With the home stretch in sight, I kicked with half mile to go. One last turn I would be done, so I sprinted with 200 to go and slipped under 20-minute milestone with a 19:49. I lost my balance briefly but quickly regained it as my parents came over to congratulate me. Despite unfavorable conditions, I prevailed and ran my fastest time in Florida. Next race on my plate is the Bartram Trail All Comers XC Race, where I hope to whittle away some time and get closer to my all time PR. After that it's my favorite, the Summer Beach Run, where I can hopefully bite off a large chunk off my weak 5 Mile PR. It's hot out there but summer is coming to a close. To check out my training, take a look at my new training blog where I post a weekly wrap-up of training and occasionally discuss training methods as well as some miscellaneous information as well. So long and stay tuned!