New Experience: First And Last In The Same Race

Don’t think I’ve ever finished a race with no one in front of me and yet not one person behind me, but that’s exactly what happened in today’s World Media Run 5k. The “real” race took place at 7:00am today in Miami, Florida, but the inaugural event also included a “virtual” component where you could sign up and run your own 5k anywhere in the world during the weekend of 2/22 – 2//24.

I first read about the World Media Run at Eric’s Stubborn Running blog, thought it was a cool idea (especially with the proceeds to benefit Special Olympics) and duly signed up.

The quality tech t-shirt arrived yesterday (perfect timing) with a letter from event coordinator Marcus Grimm – nice touch! The t-shirt, race logo and colors (pictured left) are very cool and well worth the entry fee on their own. What do you think?

Anyway, on to the race. Initially I planned on running “virtually” at the same time as the main event – 7am EST – but the weather forecast wasn’t great for that time of day (wet and windy with temperatures around freezing point), so I decided to postpone my effort until later in the day. Luckily I was able to work from home today and chose to run at lunchtime to take advantage of the best weather conditions of the day – rainy with a temperature of about 42°F!

Just after noon, I was dressed and ready to go – shorts, long sleeve base layer with World Media Run t-shirt on top and a pair of gloves to keep my hands warm. I’d already mapped out a 5k route during last Sunday’s 8 mile run, so I jogged the couple of miles to the virtual start line as my warm up. The rain was heavy and the air temperature quite chilly thanks to the moderate north wind, but I knew I’d soon warm up once I started “racing”.

I lined up at the start line, pressed the start button on my Garmin Forerunner 305 and I was off. Last night I’d programmed the 305 with a 5k run in 19:00 minutes (6:07 minutes/mile), which I thought was just about achievable considering I’d be running alone and the conditions would be far from ideal. An alarm would sound if I slipped outside the goal pace which would hopefully serve to spur me on. I quickly settled in to a good rhythm along a nice straight path adjacent to several soccer fields I train on when my shins are bothering me. No sign of shin pain today though which is always a good sign. Maybe the icy water from the puddles had numbed the feeling….

I glanced down at my 305 a few times during the first mile, but with all the rain could barely read the display. However when the beep sounded to signal one mile, I wiped it clear and was amazed to read 5 minutes 36 seconds – surely I wasn’t running that fast? I pressed on, crossed the road and began the loop around the lake towards the halfway mark. My breathing was already labored, but my legs felt pretty good and I was still managing to maintain a good cadence. I made the 180° turn at halfway and tried to pick things up as I headed towards the second mile. However, the brisk headwind had other plans for me, and was probably a factor in the slower mile time of 5 minutes 59 seconds – still under goal pace though if I could just maintain my form.

The third mile was very tough – a combination headwind/crosswind and by now my legs were hurting and my breathing all over the place. Usually I experience the same “at my limit” feeling in the last mile of a 5k race, but at least there are other runners around you to work off and race against – today was a lonely battle against myself and the clock. Anyway, I kept pushing for as long as I could and was relieved to hear the beep signaling the third mile – just one tenth of a mile (or about 36 seconds) to go! I surged again but couldn’t understand why the alarm didn’t sound to mark the end of the race, and it was only when I glanced down at the display that I realized it was the low battery alarm that had sounded and NOT the three mile alert – I was yet to reach 3 miles, but thankfully only had just over a tenth to run. I couldn’t keep the surge going, but maintained as fast a pace as possible until the victory sound played on the 305.

Amazingly I’d beaten my 19 minute goal time by a huge 54 seconds, and with the help from a 5:52 last mile, recorded an 18:06 5k – all on my own and in the rain and the cold! Even more astonishing is the fact I’d lowered my best (and only) 5k on the road this year – an all out 18:40 at the Hair of the Dog 5k on New Year’s Day just over 7 weeks ago! Looks like whatever training I’ve been doing is starting to pay off and gives me good confidence going into this weekend’s double header 8k Mud In Your Eye XC race and Colonial Half Marathon.

Now I just need to submit my finish time to Marcus and see how I stacked up against the real runners down in Miami this morning….