Spring Lake 5

On Wednesday I went to the University of Maryland track to do 5 by 1000 with a 200 jog for rest. I like doing 1000s on a race week. I have found that while I might have to work harder than expected to hit my times, I often wind up averaging that pace in the race. For some reason 1000s prepare my system to race. I would have preferred, however, to do this workout on Tuesday and get that extra day of recovery. Unfortunately my work schedule did not permit that.

It was my first time back at the Maryland track since mid-March, shortly after I returned from Niger. I was scheduled to do 1000s that day as well; I went there thinking I could run 3:07-3:10. After the first 1000 I looked at my watch: 3:29! On the second I practically gave it everything I had: 3:18! I took off my watch and finished the workout. Clearly I was not anywhere nearly as fit as I thought I was: It goes to show that while good volume in training is key to success in long distance running, too many months (or years) without steady 5k-10k anaerobic efforts will take its toll. Since that workout I had stayed off the (non-asphalt) track and done timed simulation workouts on the roads and trails. Why go to the track and leave disappointed?

But last Wednesday I felt like I was ready to return. My coach thought I could run 3:12s (projected 5k pace). Completing the workout and having that data could give me confidence going into Saturday's race. In line with his prediction, I was able to run 3:12s, and while a bad day for 1000s when I was training for the 5000 in 2004 was 3:05s, it nonetheless seemed like I was lining up about a 26:25 on Spring Lake's fast course.

The Spring Lake 5 -- the first of five races in the Jersey Shore Grand Prix -- is one of the largest 5-mile road races in the U.S. This year there were 7,500 runners. My Dad has been running this race for at least 20 years. Top 10 get a piece of crystal. Top 100 get a coffee mug. Everyone gets a beer glass. At this point, just about every mug in the house bears Spring Lake 5 insignia. 

The morning of this race is like "Groundhog Day." Dad likes to leave at 5:45 a.m. and park in the same spot in front of 100 Mercer Avenue, which is close to the t-shirt pickup spot, bathrooms and starting line. He is nervous; I am nervous. Mom's in the back seat, quiet. Dad and I make easy conversation: recent performances by local runners, Levon Helm, whether or not the national deficit has any real measurable effect on the national economy.

We got a good day this morning. Because the race starts on the road adjacent to the ocean, a headwind for the opening mile is expected. After the first mile the course curves past a lake -- the wind continues to whip -- and you run back in the opposite direction through neighborhoods. The final half-mile on Ocean Avenue is dead into the wind. This, however, is considered to be part of the course (and if you do not happen to feel what you will feel in its place is deadly heat). In other words, the wind at Spring Lake is expected. All you hope for is cool weather, and we got that. The temperature was in the 50s.

I did not perform as well as I would have liked. In similar fashion to the Rumson Run, I was 15:46 through three miles, almost right on pace, but I struggled to keep rolling the last two miles. In my previous two races at Spring Lake I took 8th and 9th. Today I got bumped to 11th in the last 50 meters. 26:59. Did the Wednesday workout take a little too much out of me? (Four reps may have been better than 5.) Did the long week of work and six hours in a car yesterday have any effect? I would say probably not: I felt fresh this morning. And my coach noted that improvements in workouts might not necessarily indicate improvement during maximal efforts: That could take longer. Plus, the workouts I am doing are not specifically tailored to 8- or 10k. While I am not technically in a marathon cycle, I am also not training specifically for shorter distances: A lot of the workouts, particularly the tempo runs, will benefit me more at marathon paces than they will for 5 or 8k. 

I have chosen the race I want to succeed in. Maybe success will take a summer of mediocre racing.

Dad ran great: 30:50. He cheered me up while we walked to the car. 

Another year. Another coffee mug.

I will post my week after tomorrow's long run.