Unity Place 5K Race Report

Long Version :: (scroll down for Cliff's Notes) So I sleep in a little this morning because this race starts just a few miles from my house and I know exactly where everything is. Got up and shaved (almost) my head, which is becoming my pre-race ritual and hit the shower. Sat down and had a few cups of coffee and then went out to jog around the neighborhood a few times to warm up. Thought I was going to die during the warm-up. Coulnd't believe how hard it was the just jog along. Maybe 15 minutes of that and then I stretched well. That gave me about 30 minutes before I had to leave to go to the race. I think I went to the bathroom 23 times in that 30 minute period. Have I ever mentioned that I get really bad pre-race jitters? 8O So I drive to the race and park, get my bib and schwag bag and get ready to run. Great, I've got to go to the bathroom again and the porta-potties didn't show up. 8O I'll just use that little 'urge' to get me across the finish line quicker. Race director tells us that's is a two loop course. Cool! That means that it can't get very hilly becase there aren't any big hills in that area. Lined up at the front and over heard a guy saying that he was going for a low to mid-19 time so I figured that I'd use him as a pacer. Two little kids lined up at the front and the race director gave them a little warning about how they may think their 'fast' but they need to make sure that they don't get run over. Gun goes bang and we're off...A little handful of the fast guys take the lead and the rest of us filter in behind them. I'm staying right with my pacer and feeling like I could really shoot ahead but choose to not jack rabbit and just hang loose. 1 mile split was 6:00. Dang, still too fast. That puts me at a mid 18's pace and I'm sure I can't hold that. It felt really easy though. At the end of the first loop, I'm hitting 9:33. A little slow to hit a sub 19 time but still doing well...Except now I'm getting a side stitch. ARGH! I missed my two mile split because my side was killing me. By the 2.5 mile(ish) point, I'm ready to DIE! It's all I can do to dig deep and channel some recent anger up to keep me going. At this point I got passed by a two guys but I was also lapping the slower people that were still working on their 1st loop. Came around to the home stretch and did manage to get just a little burst of energy for the kick, but I can see by the finish line clock that I've already blown going sub 19. (Like I didn't know that already) Kicked it in for a finish time of 19:46. My pacer guy beat me by an even 30 seconds. Came in 12th overall and 2nd in my age group. Not sure how many racers were there, maybe 200-250? :shrug: I really suck at guessing the crowd size. I'm guessing that if I had done my speedwork like I was supposed to this month and took a more aggressive taper I could have come a lot closer to sub 19 but I doubt I could have made it, I'm just not to that point yet. Cliff's Notes :: Finished with 19:46. 12th overall and 2nd in my age group.