Habitrot 5k

Date: 11/26/09
Time of Day: 8:00 AM
Location: Cool Springs Galleria

Conditions: 41-44 degrees F
Music: Running Music 2
Clothing: Long sleeved wicking shirt, Compression shorts, Under Armour shorts
Shoes: Nike Air Pegasus 26+

 

Week 5 has turned into my Mt. Everest.

 

I've read of people zooming right through it. That the 20 minute run was "cake city" or whatever.

 

I can't do it. No matter how hard I try. I can't do it.

 

On Thursday, I did everything "right"...I was well rested, I ate well, I was properly hydrated...but I only made it 5 minutes...and then I only got 3 minutes on the second leg of my W5D1 repeat.

 

I'm not quitting...but I need a new plan to get me to that 20 minute run...more on that in a later post...for now, let's deal with the race.

 

My friend Bob surprised me by showing up to run the race (and he killed it...running a sub-30...his first 5k running all the way through, so mad props to Bob!).

 

I woke up at around 7, took a shower and got to the race at about 7:15.

 

First off, it was easily the least organized 5k I've ever been a part of. When I walked into the indoor football field that was the registration area, I had absolutely no idea where to go. There was no one directing anyone to the registration tables and there were no signs pointing them out. I had to push through the crowd to finally find them. When I got there, for the second time in a row...no 2X shirts. Alas.

 

The race began next to the Harley Davidson dealership. As per my usual modus operandi, I started as close to the back as possible. The one bright side here is that no one passed me the whole race. The course itself had one downhill at the beginning, but the uphill portion was so gradual and spread out that you never noticed it. For the most part, the course was fairly flat.

 

When it was time to run, I ran, but there was no way I was getting 20 minutes. First of all, people kept stopping in front of me. Some stopped to wait on people, some stopped with their strollers...and some just stopped. More than once, I almost tripped and fell.

 

At around the 4 minute mark, shin splints started kicking in. It took me six weeks to get shin splints. I tried to keep going, but I couldn't...it was just simply too painful. So I backed it down...thinking I would just do W5D1 again like on Monday.

 

The next run, however, was all shin splints...and 3 minutes was just about all of the torture I could take. So I walked the rest of the way.

 

I finished the race, but I felt - and still feel - completely defeated.

 

So many people are able to do this...why can't I?