Fall Classic (Recovery) 5k

It's only been 6 days since the marathon and the week has gone very well with only minimal soreness in the legs. I took 4 zeroes this week and my only other run on Thursday went by like a dream and so surely a little 5k run should be OK, right? The Fredericton Fall Classic which is only about 90 minutes away was the perfect opportunity to test my little theory.

Jo and I were up early and arrived in lots of time before the race. My warmup was a bit more legitimate today taking about 15 minutes, including some easy jogging, stretching and a few strides. Everything felt good except for some tightness in the right hamstring which got some extra attention by more stretches and rubbing. This is a fairly small race and so I was able to line up pretty well where I wanted about 5-6 rows back from the front and before we knew it, we were off to the races.

My only strategy today was to run strong but not to strain (especially with the soreness in the leg but it never bothered me during the race) and to see what happens. I haven't run a 5k in years and had no idea of what kind of time I should be running. Looking up my recent marathon time I get a predicted 5k time of 20:38 which is not too far off my (soft) PB of 20:01.

The 1st kilometer was a little fast in 3:58 with just a swarm of people and legs and feet as I tried to find my pace and not go into oxygen debt too quickly. The course starts on the streets and then goes on the city trail until the last 200m of the return to the finish. The next km in 4:09 was a bit more work and was entirely on the trail as I tried to hold a steady pace hanging on to the runner in front. Before I knew it 2.5 k and the 1/2 point had flown by and the effort seemed to continue to be sustainable but the next kilometer slowed a bit to 4:11 as we did a funny out and back and the turn around for home. I'm not sure what happened next as km 4 came in at a slowing 4:25 but around this point I started getting pushed from behind and could hear some heavy breathing.

Only 1k to go and all my effort focussed on my breathing and form and just getting to the next landmark, end of the bridge, only 2 more intersections, now the last stretch where I did the warmup, final turn, at last the finish in sight, still that heavy (female) breathing, don't panic, hold the form, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 (repeat) (again). At last the finish, I can't believe that just happened!!

The 5k results are here and all the 5k pics Jo and I took are here. More than pleased with the result and felt great after the run, though it was HOK position for a few seconds as I recovered. These short races are over almost before you know it though. Love it!

Apparently their may be a method to my madness because the winner last weeks Marathon by the Sea, Alex Coffin was also at the race. Alex is obviously a top local runner but he's also a running shop owner (check out his website) and a great guy who is very involved with sponsoring and supporting NB running. We talked a bit about his recovery and his plan for the race which were "going well and we'll see". Alex won today's Fall Classic 10k pulling away from the 2nd place guy in the last 200m. Since I finished early, I was able to get the finishing shot and lots more shots of the 10k finish are here.
I guess it's not only me who's crazy about running! I'm thinking of a 1.5-2 hour long run in the morning. Can't let this fitness slip away can I? Have a good week all!