Race Report: Scott County Fair 5k

I was nervous for this race. The past two weeks have been very poor training, very minimal miles. Last saturday i was out on a 6 mile run and had knee issues that made me walk most of the last 4 miles, so i was very cautious this week. Last week i don't have an excuse for. So, with minimal miles for two weeks, i didn't know what to expect. I knew i had a decent base down since my last race in mid May, and i've been increasing my distance, but how much might the past two weeks affect my race?

I do my usual pre-race thingamajig, and line up. The race begins and i'm off. My watch broke earlier in the week so i'm flying blind. I go off and try to start with a decent pace. Goal: 7:45 first mile. I finally get outside of a pack that was holding me back (they will all later beat me) and start going. Since i'm not good at judging pace anyways, i have no idea how i'm doing. Last year there were 120 runners in this race. I don't know about this year, but it seems like there are a fair amount of people ahead of me. What is bothering me is that for the first half mile or so, i'm struggling. I'm still holding whatever pace i'm at, but my legs feel heavy laden. I can now see, in the distance and around a corner, the mile marker. I hear the race director announce the the leaders just went by in 5:15. I don't know exactly how far off i am, but i'm starting to feel better, smoother. I think in my head: Head, Character, Heart. It's part of a quote i found recently about running the first third of a race with your head, the second third with your character and finishing with your heart. My first mile should be running with my head, doing what i want to do, but i can't judge pace.

7:12

I'm 33 seconds fast on my first mile, but i wasn't sure if i'd even be able to come through at 8:00. So, character. I keep telling myself this, almost making it a mantra for this second mile. I'm sure i slow down, but i'm running strong. I come through mile 2 and nobody is reading off splits. This is where i want my watch. What sort of pace am i holding now?

Heart. I'm going make myself hurt, but i want to run with heart. I find myself slipping and i keep saying heart, heart, heart, and i pick the pace back up. What pace? Good question. But i feel stronger at this point, 2.5 into the race than i did in mid May. I keep on keeping on. The last turn, the 3 mile mark, it's the last tenth and my legs feel wobbly. I don't know what i got, but stay strong and catch this short woman in front of me. I do, and i see the clock ticking away. It's better than i hoped. Tick. Tick. Tick. I smell a pr.

23:46, as i stare at the clock crossing the line. PR by 1:05.

And now the pain has hit my right side, one of those nasty stiches. I struggle to walk and breathe, but i just hit a pr with two previous weeks of poor, poor, poor training.

Oh.
Hell.
Yeah.

I don't know what my place was, nor my age group, though i can promise that i didn't place in my age group, so i left the fairgrounds (after a cool down jog and stretching). So, I'll update with place when i find out what it was.