After a year of running mostly at a relatively slow pace training for an Ironman, one of my goals this season was to build my 5k speed back again. The target race was the Lake Norman 5k, on May 2. I haven't run a sub-20 5k in my 50s (the last one was the Runway 5k in 2016 at age 49) so sub-20 minutes was the goal.
Race day came and I toed the line with several hundred runners, most of whom would be running the Lake Norman Half marathon, which shared the course for the first 1.55 miles. Carl would be joining me for the effort, shooting for a sub-19. There was pandemonium less than a quarter mile into the race as the race leaders and two of the lead bikes inexplicably took a right turn off the course. The eventual half-marathon winner ran an extra quarter mile, but fortunately I was in a group that figured out what happened before going off course. Carl, unfortunately, did do some extra distance in sorting out where to go.
I wasn't feeling great but I wanted to give myself a chance, so I sucked it up and ran a 6:23 first mile (you need to run 6:26 pace to go sub-20 minutes). The first half of the race was mostly uphill, so I was counting on a downhill finish. We reached the turnaround where the half-marathoners continued straight ahead while the 5kers reversed course, and I could see that Carl was in first, there was one runner between us, and I was in third. Heading downhill now, I hoped it would start to feel easier. It didn't. I completed Mile 2 in 6:31, still on track for a sub-20. But then the road flattened and even seemed to be going slightly uphill. I couldn't keep up the pace, no matter how hard I tried. I got slower and slower. I think I may have even slowed briefly to a 7-minute pace. When the hill ended and we were going downhill again, I just couldn't go any faster. I started wondering if anyone was going to challenge me for third. I figured even if they did, I would still be first in my age group. I did a lot of negotiating with myself, fighting the urge to stop or slow down drastically. Finally the finish line came into view and I could see the clock. Not only had I missed my chance at a sub-20, the clock was already in the 21s. My official time was 21:07.
Carl won the race but was also nearly a minute off his goal time. We got some great prizes but hardly felt like we earned them because we hadn't met our race goals.
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| Checks, giant awards, and beverages! But disappointing finish times |
Fast forward a week and we were lined up on the track, with Chas pacing the 19-minute group (Carl and Brad) and Derek pacing the 20-minute group (me). My plan was to run even 95-second laps. If I could do that 12.5 times, I'd have my sub-20 5k. I let Derek set the pace and he updated me on our progress. We started a little fast but soon settled into a groove. We were right on pace through 4 laps - about a mile. My old soccer buddy David Boraks was there and snapped photos of the two groups.
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| Chas, Carl, and Brad trying for sub-19 |
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| Derek and me going for sub-20 |
About 6 laps in, I could see Carl dropping out ahead of me. Apparently he just didn't have it this day. But Chas and Brad continued on. Meanwhile I was having struggles of my own. Had Carl and I tried to reboot too soon? I made it through Mile 2 still on pace, but I was really beginning to labor. Maybe if I slowed just a bit I could pick it up and still finish strong. My 95-second laps were becoming 98- and 99-second laps. Just two laps to go -- surely you can pick up the pace now, right? But I couldn't. I think I was finally able to get back up to goal pace for the final lap, but the damage had been done and my time was 20:20. That was definitely the best I had done in a couple years, but not the sub-20 I had been looking for.
Brad ended up with a 19:30 -- short of his goal but still a big PR for him, so that was great! I think if I had another month of training with continued perfect weather, I could maybe hit that sub-20. But unfortunately I'm registered for a duathlon in 2 weeks. Then I'm planning a big bike trip across Virginia, and I'm signed up for an ultra in August. So 5k training is over for now. I did what I could, and I did run a pretty decent 5k for a 54-year-old, all things considered. I had planned to lose some weight this spring, which definitely would have helped in the 5k, but given that many folks have gained big chunks of weight during the pandemic, I probably shouldn't complain. I'm excited about my plans for the rest of the summer, so I don't think I'll change a thing!
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