I ended up running solo this morning. It was a beautiful morning for a run.
After a 2.5 mile warm up I found myself at the start of the neighborhood 5K course I'll be running Saturday. I decided to run the course, not all out, but pushing pretty hard. I wanted to see where my fitness was after the short layoff, see how my leg held up to the quicker pace, remember what it feels like to run tired, and otherwise mentally prepare for the race.
The course is a winding loop that can be summarized (not exactly accurate but close enough) as one mile downhill, one mile flat, one mile uphill, with a final lap around the track at Northridge Park. Since all of the significant downhill is in the first mile, much of it right at the start, you pretty much have to start out fast so as to not waste the good downhill. This morning I was breathing pretty hard this first mile, though I felt like I was barely under an 8:00 pace. I didn't look at my watch until the end of the first mile and was shocked (and relieved) when I saw the first mile split was 6:30. I knew I couldn't hold that pace for the level and uphill miles. I ended up finishing in 21:16. My Garmin only measured the course at around 3.0, averaging around a 7:00/mi pace. While there might be a few young runners that will challenge me Saturday (in 16 years I've never won this race), the only one with a recent 5K time is Taylor who ran this same course last Saturday in 20:13 in the stake YM/YW 5K race, a little over a minute faster than what I ran today. I need to drop 20 seconds per mile, but I think that is within the realm of possibility. In recent years I've normally run that first mile in around 6:00 instead of 6:30, and holding a quicker pace is always easier with a little competition. I'll also be in my lighter racing shoes instead of the heavier trainers I was wearing this morning. (I think I've almost convinced myself.)
Overall I'm very encouraged by this morning's run. My leg didn't bother me, even at the quicker pace, and it looks like maybe I'll at least be able to challenge some of the young bucks a little come Saturday. More importantly, I feel like I'm finally ready to get back into my normal training to get ready for the Wasatch Back Relay and beyond.
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