Week 3 Day 3: Hoover Run For Hope 5k

Date: 11/7/09
Time of Day: 8:00 AM
Location: Ravenwood High School
Conditions: 54-55 degrees F, sunny
Music: New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Clothing: Long sleeve wicking shirt, Compression Shorts, Adidas Shorts
Shoes: Puma Sierra Trail II

When I got to the elementary school where the race started yesterday, I was feeling good about myself. I was well rested and I had a good 3 weeks of running under my belt.

Then I got out of the car.

The first problem I ran into was when I got to the registration table.

"What size t-shirt would you like?"

"2X, please," I responded.

"The largest we have is an extra large."

"As in you are out of anything larger...or that is the actual largest shirt you have?"

"It's largest one we have."

Okay...so that's not a good start. I've entered numerous 5ks...this is the first one I've been in that did not have a 2XL t-shirt. It's a small complaint, as I didn't enter this race for the t-shirt...but it is kind of a good feeling to pop out of the shower when you get home and put on your ugly 5k t-shirt (they're almost all ugly) and wear it around for the rest of the day. So I got an XL...maybe I'll wear it sometime in the future.

But I digress...you want to know about the race.

As usual, I flipped on my iPod, started my New Yorker podcast and got ready to start my C25K app and waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, the 8:00 gun went off at about 8:10...and I was in for my next surprise.

I had mapped out the run via Google Maps and had done the street view for the whole course. What I gathered from street view was that I was going to be running a mostly flat course with a small hill in the third mile.

Google Maps lied.

After running about 100 yards, we made a left turn...and went down a very long hill. In my mind, I knew...if we're going down, we have to come back up.

My first 90 second running interval kicked in about halfway down the hill. So I took off running. At the bottom of the hill, the course flattened out for about 30 feet while we ran across the street between the school and the neighborhood. Then we started climbing. For about 45 minutes of the first run, I was climbing.

Then...after 90 seconds, my 3 minute run kicked in...and we were still climbing. At this point, I was starting to wonder if it'd be easier to just repeat W3D3 on Sunday.

Finally, about halfway through the 3 minute walking interval after the run, we hit a flat portion...and I had my 90 second run again...this time, slightly downhill.

When I hit the second three minute portion, it was mostly in a downhill...and I finally hit the end of the three minutes at the bottom of the hill.

At this point, every muscle in my leg was killing me. My original plan had me continuing for the rest of the race...but my race strategy had been based on a flat course. This was not a flat course.

The course continued down the street and turned into another neighborhood. At this point, a car came zooming by...and it wasn't the safety car. There were also a few people cutting across the course to take shortcuts...I honestly couldn't believe this...but I did come upon a group of volunteers crossing race numbers off a list, so they were clearly anticipating that someone might try it.

The street we turned onto was another hill. Therefore, I decided that it would probably be better for my progress if I walked the rest of the way instead of continuing to run. It's too early in my journey to worry about my times...and I had finished Week 3.

So...I walked the remainder of the way...and it was quite literally uphill both ways. Of course, another couple of cars came zooming down the course...which I again found very bizarre.

Finally, I hit the line at 54:33...but hey, I was tenth in my age group!

Next year, I'll probably run it again, because I feel like this course completely kicked my butt...and I want to get sweet revenge on it. Until then, however, I have to continue my C25K journey.

And I've finished Week 3...which makes me 1/3 done. And that's what I really have to remember. One-third done means that I am not done. I shouldn't get that discouraged from how the race went when I was working on essentially 1/3 fitness. Again, it's a baseline...and it shows me that once I get through with C25K, I need to start tackling hills.

Luckily, I know that the Habitrot 5k on Thanksgiving is mostly flat.

Onto Week 4!