Race Recap: University of the Incarnate Word 5k

My goal leading into the race was to get a new 5k PR. Workouts have been going pretty well, and I set my previous PR last year at the same meet while doing a 10k road race in the morning, so I was confident I could at least take a couple seconds off. This also marked the first time Chass, Rob and I have all run the same race, so it was nice to warm up with both of them.

After the gun went off, I was really happy that the pace felt easy - sometimes you get into a race and it feels like a sprint the first lap. I figured out why when we hit the 200 meter mark: I was going really, really slow. I picked it up and tucked in behind Chass and the leading UIW runner for a little while, until I sensed the pace was going too fast for me. I came through 800 meters in about 2:24, at which point two Trinity runners passed me, and I tucked in behind them.

Winning races is easy if you’re significantly faster than your competition, but this is very rarely the case for me, other than in super low key road races. So when I’m outmatched, or at least evenly matched, I try to race as smart as possible. In this case, that meant latching on to anyone going the same pace as me and avoiding the wind that was kicking up (not hard, just enough to hurt a bit) around the track. From 800m to 3500m, I was content to run whatever pace necessary to stay tucked in and wait for the racing to really begin during the last mile of the race. Many of these laps varied by a couple seconds as the pace slowed and sped back up, but it’s better to stay attached and competitive than to get obsessed with hitting a certain lap split.

By 3k I had moved up from 5th place to 2nd, and I knew I just had to wait for the pace to slow slightly to make a move. I’ve never had much in the way of closing speed, so for me the only solution is a long, grinding drive to the finish. The only trick when you make a move like that is that if anyone manages to latch onto you, then the tactic is pretty much useless - they’ll just draft and wait until the final 200 and blow by you. But when it’s a little windy, and you can get separation from your competitors, then everybody’s in the same boat - they have to face the wind just as much as you do.

So with 1500 meters to go, I moved into the lead and tried to separate myself. I knew the pace had slowed a little bit, so it’s not like everyone else was feeling great anyway. Within a few strides I could see I’d gotten a couple steps of space, so I just tried to maintain as best I could, and save a little bit of energy in case anyone caught back up and I needed a desperate last lap kick. No one ever came back, so I waited until the last 400, ran as fast as I could (67 is about as quick as I’ve ever closed a longer race), and got the win and a new PR of 15:02. It’s not an incredible time by any stretch, but it makes me really excited about the marathon in a few months.

For all those interested in the video of the race just click HERE