Schonning 5K

Another race where I had no idea what I would run. Yes, I was racing it, but I would be happy with sub-17:40. Unless I did awful, my time wouldn't mean that much to me. WTAC warm-up of five lasted just under a mile. During the warm-up, my ankles and knees felt funny and I wasn't sure if I'd run well. Of course, that meant absolutely nothing as the feeling went away when the race started.

The Plan: So my plan was to run the first mile hard but not too hard. (I went out fast at Pawcatuck Lions with a first mile of 5:24, and it really tired me out.) I wanted my first mile to be 5:35. That wouldn't take too much out of me, but would also set up a good pace in case I slowed. I wanted to pick it up mile 3, and run a 5:30 with everything I had left. I think this would be right around my PR, which I guess was A-Goal. For place, it doesn't matter. In fact, I'd rather not win it and get second, third, or fourth instead because I'd rather be pushed to get a fast time than run solo. I was hoping Jonny Hammett would show up since he would be a good pacer for me to PR, but he didn't. The sub-20 WTAC showing was composed of Me, Dad, B, and the Bousquets (also the warm-up group).

Well, the plan not only worked perfectly well, but much, much better than I could've have hoped for. Before the race, I wasn't too nervous and wouldn't be really disappointed if this race didn't turn out well (which is usually a pre-race thought). I wasn't nervous until lining up on the starting line (not a very good one, I might add) when I realized that I actually have to race a 5K.

And it started.

Mile 1: As I stated earlier, the ankle, knee, and other discomforts all disappeared as soon as we went off. You just don't focus on small things like that and are really concentrated on your race: the pace your running, who's around you (and in longer races I like to enjoy the scenery) and how you feel. Once we started, I was pretty much with the lead group for the rest of the mile. At first, there were more than five in the lead pack, since the race just started. I think by the time we turned on main it was just the five of us in the lead pack: Me, Dad, Tom, Michael Tammarro, and some guy with Earplugs and a phone. Earplugs was presumably listening to music, so he didn't seem like a great runner and I kinda thought he'd drop out. I didn't know much about Tammarro, but I knew us three WTACers could keep the pace for a while. Oddly enough, the pack stayed together for a longer than I expected. There were points where I felt like I was going to drop out of the pack, there were points where I thought someone else was. I didn't feel great on Main Street (possibly my least favorite road in Westerly), but I was on target pace and as soon as we turned onto Margin, I felt better. Margin Street is definitely the most scenic part of the course. It's a nice quiet road that goes along the river. Unlike main, you can actually run on it in your free time without being hit by a car. Mile 1 passed, the pack was still a pack, and the pace was perfect. 5:34.

Mile 2: This was the point in the race where I (and probably the rest of us) starting wondering when this pack would break up. At some point, someone would have to take the lead and someone would fall behind. The pace was pretty much the same for the rest of Margin street. Towards the end of it, there was a slight (very small) hill, and while it slowed us the rest of us down, Earplugs sped right up it. It said a lot about him: he's a strong hill runner or he has more energy left. Either way, it was the first time our pack started to break up. At that point, he actually took the lead (but by less than a second) and kept it until the turnaround. I also moved forward just a little bit, and was in second at the turnaround. I didn't take water. Earplugs tried to, but dropped it. We turned around and I saw Randi, Joe, and Mikey headed the other way. They seemed a lot closer than they actually were, but that's how lots of turnarounds appear. Just after, I passed Earplugs and took the lead. Now we were running on Clark street. There was a slight hill (again, short, but longer than the first tiny hill) and seeing Earplug's strength on the first hill, I was afraid he'd pass me right back. Didn't happen. I still had the lead, but he was right on me. I picked it up a little and at Mile two it seemed like he was right behind me with the others just behind him. Second mile, 5:37.

Mile 3: I missed my mile two split. A little after the first mile, I stopped looking at my watch for pace and started worrying about who I was/wasn't going to beat (I wonder how much the watch helps in a race). The rest of the race wasn't quite the same as the first two miles. The first two miles the five of us battled for position, but now I couldn't see anyone. It was like the first mile of Pawcatuck Lions: I was leading with a bunch of guys on my tail, but not much position changing was happening (or at least for me). It turns out I was more worried than I should've been. Elm street seemed to last forever. The third and last mile was brutal. It wasn't super hot or humid, but I had that uncomfortable lead where I just wanted to break away from the others, but it seemed like they were right on me. Elm had a few rolling hills, and I wasn't sure if Earplugs would show his hill strength again and come back up on me. Eventually, I made the turn onto grove, and even though I probably had a 20 second lead at that point in the race, I had no idea how much I was leading by and the final hill on Grove was probably the biggest. Somehow, I had the energy to pick it up again going up the hill and that sealed my win. Mile 3 right before the final turn. It didn't just seem like I was going fast: I was going fast. 5:19.

The Last Point One: I found all the energy I had left and bolted towards the finish line. It felt weird with everyone watching me. I saw the clock count down- 16:50, 16:51, 16:52. Sub-17? What? I pushed it a little more and was just over. At the time I thought I ran 17:03, but it ended up 17:02.

The finish. I tried out the new Green WTAC singlet. Before the race, it seemed big and like it
would bother me, but I totally forgot about when it started. I still prefer the white.

24 second PR and win (although I could care less about winning in this race), but the weird thing was I was kinda disappointed. Yes, I ran my plan minus many seconds. Yes, I crushed my expectations and had a pretty great race, but it puts higher expectations on my Cross Country season, I didn't want this race to be a huge deal for me, and I wanted my huge PR to be at the Injury Fund XC meet. Maybe it sounds weird, but it felt PRing at a fun run. After a long discussion with a newspaper writer (where he wrote down that I ran the 100, the 300, and the 2000 in track before I corrected him, and completely screwed up what I said to him and published it), awards were given out. And they were more than disappointing. This is my third win at an open road 5K. First was at Avondale, then in Pawcatuck Lions. All three were PRs, and all three are fast courses. And all there were very different races. At Avondale, I started in 4th and picked off runner after runner, At lions I pretty much lead the whole way and had a huge lead from the turnaround on, and today the first half was in a pick, then I took the lead. I also would've had a 4th at Rivalry 5K, but it ran short and ended up not being a 5K (and it would've been my PR for 9 months, too). Avondale disappointed with the awards: nothing you would keep for a long time and instead an assortment of food products. Pawcatuck Lions surprised with a great award: an acrylic (I think) rectangle with engraved letter on it, and it had a cool stand that lit it up and changed color. I've gotten some cool awards in track, but this is definitely my best award. And there were the Schonning prizes. I like the Schonning race a lot, but the prizes weren't very good this year. As winner of the race, I received a medal, socks, and, that's it. It seemed pretty cheap, but at least I didn't come here for the prizes. Well, now that I've broken 17:10, it seems very possible that my original goal of 16:55 at my first XC could happen. My fastest mile in a 5K today (the last one in 5:19) also means I can probably lower the first two in a future race (at Class meet, my coach said I ran a 5:18 first mile. It made sense, based on how slow my second and third miles were, but I'm not convinced it's 100% percent accurate, and I'm counting the last mile today as my fastest). Hopefully, good things will come September 5th.