First 5K Race in Over Four Months Was Not a Disappointment

The last time I ran a 5K was the Jason's Race 5K on October 14th of last year, over 4 months and a week ago. My time in that race was 18:18 for the win.

Starting line photo courtesy of the Camarillo Family YMCA www.ciymca.org/camarilloAs of Thursday of this past week I had no plans to do another 5K, but a friend of mine asked me if I would be stopping by the Camarillo Family YMCA 5K down at Pleasant Valley Fields. He said he may be there. Well a few hours later I thought, what the heck, and signed up.

This morning I arrived at the race with my 9 year old son, who decided he would make a go of the 5K himself. So my little buddy was with me, but my friend who prompted me to sign up for the race was nowhere to be found.

There were about 200 runners and it was a very casual little race that took us on an out and back course mainly through Pleasant Valley Fields and a couple streets. There was a section of the course on dirt near the west end of the park that I was not real fond of running on but it was a relatively short section.

The race started very typically. About a dozen youngster ranging from 10 to 20 by my estimate took off like it was a sprint. It took about 1/4 mile at most to slip by the group and I found myself behind one last guy who I was unable to rein in. This young man, 30 years my junior, was the ultimate winner of the race. Nice job!

My place in the race did not change from that point on. The first mile was 5:38, which felt fine and translates into a 17:28 pace, but I couldn't maintain that pace.

There was a pain in my chest as I seem to have an allergic reaction to chimney smoke that constricts my lungs. With all the cold weather we've been having, my breathing has been impacted people burning wood in their fireplaces. Just one of those frustrating things that I can't do much about other than to steer clear of neighborhoods known from personal experience are smoke pits. In any case, 2 hours post-race and my chest killing me!

That one annoyance aside, I ended up finishing in 18:16, suprisingly 2 seconds faster than the 5K 4 months ago! Now if I actually start training for a 5K, maybe I can get down below 18 minutes again...

My son ran his very first full 5K race in 24:27, sub-8 minute pace. He was hampered by side cramps and walked sections of the race...I think this kid has the potential to run me into the ground in a few years.

Now, time for a beer.