I’ve done many races over the past few years, but surprisingly I never participated in an actual 5K. This last Saturday was my first opportunity. It was also my first race out on Long Island in my new hometown. The race was the Sands Point 5k. The event organization was flawless from my perspective and it was a blast.
I was hoping to set a good time; in fact, I was aiming for a sub-20 minute 5k. That goal seemed doable, especially in the first two miles. That third mile was the point at which I knew it was not happening. I knew the area was a bit rugged and hilly, but I did not know to what extent. Three quarters of the third mile were actually cross country running on a beautiful trail along with soft dirt, sand, roots and wooden stairs. All in all, I was happy with my performance. I finished in 20:33.1, 21st overall and 2nd in the male 25-30 age group. Full Results here.
What follows is a description of the race itself.
I warmed up with a slow mile run; this was enough to get my heart pace going and to break a bit of a sweat. It was actually a bit humid but I did not mind. A 5k, I think, is short enough so that the humidity shouldn’t affect one as much as for a 10k or larger distance. Regardless, I did 4 strides to get the heart rate going a bit further. I lined up at the starting line; most people were shying to the back. I was trying to figure out where my correct placement should be. Ended up starting 3 rows into the crowd. I saw some of the younger kids who although young seemed like they meant business, and I tried not to mess with them. There were a lot of serious runners up there and I knew I couldn’t keep up with some of them.
Start and First Mile
The start was solid. I actually got pulled out a bit faster than I wanted to. One of the guys sped off into the distance. I was not not going to keep up with him. The fast start bothered me a bit and I settled into a solid pace. The first mile winded up a road around the center grassy field at the Sands Point preserve. Slight elevation loss and gain, but nothing bad. After a good half mile loop, we ran into the first trail loop. It was completely on the road and I felt I was going faster than I should have. There was more elevation loss and gain and I passed the first mile marker at about 6:17 into the race. I did not know whether I could sustain the pace, but I gave it what I had and pushed into the second mile.
Second Mile
The second mile finished off the first loop. I kept with the same runners throughout this time. There was a lady alongside me who kept on giving me a hard time. I thought I was breathing pretty hard and heard her too. I let her go slightly ahead, I did not want to bother racing quite yet. After passing back into the main Sands Point Preserve loop, we took a right turn on a fairly steep downhill into the gravel and dirt trails. I knew we’d be coming back us this hill later in the race and was not looking forward to it. The downhill gave me a chance to catch my breath but before I knew it I was working again. Passed the mile 2 marker at about 12:38.
Third Mile
This time we were on dirt trails that had sand and roots. As we kept on going deeper, it kept on getting narrower and steeper. Up and down we went. At one point we were climbing up wooden stairs. I felt myself slowing. At this point I was fairly sure I wouldn’t be breaking 20 minutes. There was a 13 years old in front of me making who also was slowing a bit. As we ran through the woods and finished off the loop, I really wasn’t looking forward to running up the hill. Little did I know, my recent hill training seemed to help a bit. I passed 2-3 (things were getting hazy, I’m not sure) runners up this hill. We were back on the first loop of the preserve’s grassy field. I think we were at about .65-.70 of the third mile at this point. Unforunately, the part from here to the finish was also slightly uphill. I gave it what I had. As we neared the mile 3 marker, things were very hazy. I thought of slowing down but knew I was way too close to do that. I slightly remember seeing 19:50 on the marker as I was nearing it. There was a sharp left turn onto a grassy area with a sprint to the finish line. I did not know I had it in me but I really sprinted. It felt good. I saw one guy, I zeroed in on him and just ran my guts out. I remember the finish line announcer mentioning something about a sprint but I don’t remember much else.
Finish
I passed the finish line, gasped for air and grabbed some water. I didn’t look at the time, just kept on trying to catch my breath and walked around. I felt I was gonna lose all control over my body. I couldn’t swallow water, I thought I would throw it up. In time, felt better, ate two bananas and juice and saw the results. I was happy. 20:33.1 maybe shouldn’t make you as beat up as I was, but it sure felt good to finish strong. All in the middle of a 56 mile week. I’m hoping that after the marathon I can take a bit of time off and then concentrate on improving my 5k times; it would be a lot of fun to set that sub 20 minute goal. With proper training, maybe even a sub 19.
