I made a jump this year, my third year of running. I made some bold decisions and I pursued some large goals race-wise, putting the local 5ks on the back burner. Still, I decided two years ago that I would make the NCMC Turkey Trot a Thanksgiving tradition. It's great to have the consistency of a race on the same course at the same time every year with many of the same people.
With my focus on longer, steady-paced stuff over the year, including a trail half-marathon less than three weeks prior, I didn't focus much on 5k speed. I did try a little speed work in the fall, but I didn't make it a consistent practice. Then the week leading up to the race I felt a little fatigued. So there was no expectation at the starting line on race day.
I set my 5k PR in 2014 on July 4th, a course that runs along the local 4th of July Parade route, where the whole first and third miles are a steady downhill. Early in 2016 I had brushes with hitting that mark or besting it on a couple of routine training runs. That was before I started training with the goal of hitting the 50k mark in a 6 hour race. It's a vastly different strategy, to the point that I often hear ultramarathoners who can't stand the idea of a 5k race.
At the start line of the Turkey Trot I saw a guy I'm Twitter friends with. He won the Loveland Classic 10k as well as the 10k that accompanied the Longmont Trail Half Marathon that I ran in July. Knowing he's a swift and experienced runner, I got on his heels to get through the crowd as the race started into the first couple of corners. I figure since I was able to stay with him and eventually lose him in the crowd, that he wasn't out to win this race, but this strategy worked out in my favor.
I looked at my watch just once during the race, right as it vibrated for the first mile mark. It was sub 7:30, that's what I recall. That surprised me a lot. I hadn't pushed that pace in a long time, but I felt very strong and relaxed and in control. My stride was good and my breathing didn't feel the slightest bit labored. In previous years I was gasping for air at the halfway water stop, and I'd try to down a little solo cup of water while staying in motion, because my mouth was so dry from panting. This time I kept moving through it, and into a gentle downhill in mile two.
My trail running experience this year has given me a lot of confidence to make up time on downhills. We don't have anything very steep in my city, but it translates well enough. I caught up to several groups, letting my momentum build on the descent, sometimes running outside of the coned off bike lane to pass the congestion.
With less than a mile to go, the course of the accompanying 2k race meets up with the 5k which seemed to add a bit more congestion this year. It got a little tight trying to slalom around a lot of walkers and kids weaving around. I don't think I got slowed down too awful much, but I feel like it's just common courtesy to pick a side of the road and stick to it if your walking on a race course, but I digress.
