2017 Track Shack Celebration of Running 5K Race Report
We flew into Orlando two days before race day. The walk from the gate to the rental car counter felt like a marathon itself, but it was all indoors and I never mind a good walk. I got a quick taste of the weather outside when we went from the counter to the car, but that was parked in a shady garage and I never got a real sense of just how hot it was outside.
We decided to drive direct to Track Shack to pick up our race bibs and check out the sales they were having. God knows I didn’t need to buy anything, but if the price tags had the right numbers I might just be convinced to hand over my debit card.
The drive to Track Shack took about thirty minutes and was uneventful, but I couldn’t help wondering why every single road was under construction. I had to navigate orange barrels like I was riding a horse in competition.
When we arrived and I emerged from the air conditioned cocoon I realized just how hot it was outside. The air surrounded my head in a thick blanket and the heat burned my eyes. It burned my fucking eyes!
Why was I in a place that burned my eyes, and how was I supposed to run in such a place?
The next morning I decided to go for a run. Just an easy run to help me get acclimated to the blazes of Hell itself that I would be experiencing on race day. I was out the door much earlier than the trip to Track Shack so it was a little cooler, but it was about two hours later than race time would be so it was a bit warmer than what I was expecting for the gun.
My easy runs are usually dictated by heart rate and how I am feeling that day. Because it was so hot my heart rate was jumping way too high for the way my easy runs usually go. After a mile of walking and jogging and slowing back down I decided to forget the heart rate and see if I could run the pace I was thinking of running in the race.
It was harder than expected.
I cut the run short and began to rethink my plan for the 5K.
For weeks I had been thinking about breaking 25 minutes. Something I had not attempted in a while, but something I thought I could do.
Now, I began to think that breaking 25 minutes might be a foolish thing to attempt. What if I went out too hard and blew up a mile and a half into the race? What if I burned up and had to walk the last half of the race?
When we got up the next morning to head to the race my fears were only slightly eased. The sun was not up yet, so even though it was still hot, it was much cooler than it had been the last two days.
But the air was thick.
After being outside for a mere ten minutes my hands began to feel sticky. I was feeling good, but I was worried.
When I look back at any 5K I’ve done well, they all have one thing in common.
A good 5K requires a good warm up.
So I jogged down the street and I did dynamic stretches and leg swings. If this was the winter time I would have needed more time to warm up, but in these temperatures I was ready to go after about fifteen minutes.
Fifteen minutes of warming up and sweat was already dripping from my face.
For a 25 minute 5K I needed to run about an 8 minute pace. But I did not want to line up at the 8 minute sign for two reasons. First of all most people run a little faster than they should at the start. If people were lining up as they should then they would probably be going faster than an 8 minute pace. But the most important reason I didn’t want to line up there was because I needed a crowd in front of me.
I wanted enough people starting in front of me so I would be forced to slow down in the first mile. I did not want to get caught up in the initial surge that often happens in a crowded race, and I needed something to keep me slow enough that I could ease into a proper pace.
That plan worked perfectly because when the race started the beginning of the course was pretty congested. People weaved in and out of the crowd, but that is something I never like to do. It burns too much energy, and I was confident that the runners would thin out soon enough.
As soon as I began running I got the same feeling I always seem to get in the first few minutes of a race. It is a nervous vibration in the center of my chest that reverberates through my arms and legs. A feeling right on the edge of panic. I think my brain is translating the sudden physical activity combined with the massive crowds and yelling at me to take cover.
But the feeling did not last any longer than it usually does and before long I was settled into a groove on the far right side of the crowd. It took less than half a mile for the runners to begin spreading out and I found myself weaving around people while trying to be as efficient as possible.
The first mile went by easier than expected. The timing clock showed me that I was 46 seconds slower than I needed to be. I looked at my watch and tried to calculate how long it took me to cross the start line. Even so, I was still at least 30 seconds slower than I needed to be.
Not impossible to make up over the next two miles.
The route runs through a beautiful neighborhood and I think that eased the run some. It distracted me from the race and made the miles go pretty quick. Before I knew it I was passing behind the Track Shack building where they had a 40th Birthday Spectacular. Music played, crowds cheered, and volunteers were handing out mini cupcakes.
I passed on the treats.
The road by Track Shack must have been downhill, because suddenly I was coasting and the run was still feeling almost effortless. Check the pace on my watch. Making up time. But I couldn’t turn on the gas just yet. I was just passing mile two and I still wasn’t sure I could go all out for a whole mile. But I could ease into a faster pace and start pushing just a bit.
Tracing along the edge of a lake and I can hear the sounds of the finish line coasting across the water. I can tell I am close now and when I turn onto the street that also served as the start I knew I could gun it. A slight uphill made the effort feel more intense than it should, but I turned the corner after the 3 mile marker and pulled in the finish line as hard as I could.
My watch matched the gun time exactly…25:47.
Official results showed me finishing in 248th place overall and 26th in the 35–39 age group with a chip time of 25:27.
Only 65 seconds off my PR and a mere 10 seconds per mile slower than a sub 25.
I think if I would have started a little further to the front of the pack I would have broke 25 minutes.
Damn.
