I was pretty nervous going into today and not exactly confident of meeting my goal of sub-15 minute 5000m.
The UW hosted a "Last Chance" meet to help mostly local collegiates qualify for next weeks indoor NCAA championships.
The Dempsey Indoor is a wonderful facility. 307 meters of fast track and temperate climate. I decided to go with the spikes and I am glad I did.
Warmed up for a couple miles outside with some other guys from the race. It's great to see people you know but don't get a chance to train with much. There were about 15 or so in the race. They stacked us two deep in a waterfall start. The start was 88 meters from the finish line so once we got to the finish line it was 16 laps from there. 1/4 mile splits were given but I had already committed to tracking my own splits after each lap (307 meters). I wanted to be right around 54 seconds per lap which would be 14:45.
Here are my split times:
| 53.91 |
| 55.2 |
| 54.13 |
| 54.7 |
| 55.78 |
| 54.03 |
| 54 |
| 55.03 |
| 55.77 |
| 54.6 |
| 55.53 |
| 54.85 |
| 55 |
| 54.77 |
| 2:02.0 |
I missed the last two so the 2:02 was for the final 702 meters which was 4:39 pace.
So I was very pleased with my consistency. I didn't get caught up in anyone else's race but my own. The lead pack went out fast from the get go which was fine with me. I wasn't there for place, I was there for time. Fortunately, there was a pack of 4-5 of us that hung together for most of the race. I wanted to make a move with about 6 laps to go but waited until four laps to go. This turned out to be a mistake of sorts and I had quite a bit left in the tank at the end. Experience is huge in these races and I don't have any. It's only my second race at this distance and first ever on a track of any sort. 15:35 was my PR on the road so I can be nothing but excited about how things went today.
That said, there is always something to learn. I feel like I could have pretty easily shaved another second per lap off of my time. I never at any point went anaerobic in the race which was also a mistake. On the final lap I really didn't have anyone pushing me from behind or pulling me from ahead so I was all alone which makes it hard to really put in a good kick at the end.
The indoor season is now over but I hope to do more of it next year. I really think I have a decent shot at 14:30. I'm pretty excited for the 10,000m I will run next month in Bellingham with another good pack of guys to run with. Hoping to break 31:00 there.
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