Today was the Kalamazoo Klassic 5k and 10k races. I had volunteered to help out with setup and registration, and ultimately went to help out at an aid station through the 10k. By the timethe last 10k'ers came through I realized I parked my car within the 5k course and couldn't get out for at least a half hour. So between that and the inspiring people that came through the 10k (we had a barefooter -I didn't get his name- who finished around 37 minutes!), I called my wife and she let me hop in the 5k. I ran down the big hill to the registration table and got signed up real quick and then ran and walked back up the massive thing to get to the starting line (with about 5 minutes to go!). I had non of my running gear (I was there as a volunteer), so I rigged the chip to my foot with a shoelace off my Merrells (that were in my car), made sure my phone, keys and wallet were secure in my pockets and went up in cargo shorts and my volunteer shirt.
The chatter amongst racers was how fast the 5k course was, and living within 4 blocks I could see the point. There were only a fee hills, and the back half was entirely downhill except for a couple hundred feet. I started out quick alon Oakland drive (my home turf) hopping up and running on the curb like a balance beam for kicks and to avoid the bottlenecked runners. It was good to see a few young kids in the crowd, even if they had bulky shoes on their feet.
After about a mile, we made a turn from the relatively flat (some gentle slopes) Oakland drive onto the hills of whites road. Things got pretty tricky as my fast pace caught up with me both on the inclines and the downhills. I have really taken Ken Bob's "look out! No brakes!" to heart, and used the springs to their fullest barreling down each hill and then slowing a bit on the flats. Lately this has felt really good and has presented a challenge to keep my steps light while movig too fast to really think about it. I'll be damned if it didn't work though. I didn't push off once and the recoil of my legs shot me down the long hill (about 1.5 miles) on Bronson boulevard way faster than I would have thought o could go.
Nearing the finish line, I sank a little deeper into my springs and managed to power pat a lot of people. I was way out of breath, but te legs and feet felt great so I ordered my lungs to catch up (they didn't really listen). Turning the last corner into the chute, a grassy play field, I dug in my toes and made a mad dash for the finish, never once looking at the time.
About 20 minutes, some snacks and a free massage (the line was surprisingly short!) later, I finally got around to checking my time. I thought "well I felt fast today, so I bet I beat 30 minutes at least" (my previous best was about 31 minutes). Lo and behold, I find myself on the result sheet and see 25:51.... And then did a double take. 25:51?! Seriously?! I blew what I though I ran by 4 minutes?! An 8:19 pace?! Is this imagination land?!
As you can see I was surprised
The only rough part was that was only good for 28 out of 44 runners in my age group. It was competitive! Our top guy in the 35-39 was 6th overall and was at about 16 minutes! Anyway, the crowds were pretty good and it was a super fun race, especially since I hadn't planned on running it. I'd recommend it to anyone!
Caveat: if you do the 10k, there is an enormous hill. The nice thin is it's brick, which I find a really fun barefoot surface.
The chatter amongst racers was how fast the 5k course was, and living within 4 blocks I could see the point. There were only a fee hills, and the back half was entirely downhill except for a couple hundred feet. I started out quick alon Oakland drive (my home turf) hopping up and running on the curb like a balance beam for kicks and to avoid the bottlenecked runners. It was good to see a few young kids in the crowd, even if they had bulky shoes on their feet.
After about a mile, we made a turn from the relatively flat (some gentle slopes) Oakland drive onto the hills of whites road. Things got pretty tricky as my fast pace caught up with me both on the inclines and the downhills. I have really taken Ken Bob's "look out! No brakes!" to heart, and used the springs to their fullest barreling down each hill and then slowing a bit on the flats. Lately this has felt really good and has presented a challenge to keep my steps light while movig too fast to really think about it. I'll be damned if it didn't work though. I didn't push off once and the recoil of my legs shot me down the long hill (about 1.5 miles) on Bronson boulevard way faster than I would have thought o could go.
Nearing the finish line, I sank a little deeper into my springs and managed to power pat a lot of people. I was way out of breath, but te legs and feet felt great so I ordered my lungs to catch up (they didn't really listen). Turning the last corner into the chute, a grassy play field, I dug in my toes and made a mad dash for the finish, never once looking at the time.
About 20 minutes, some snacks and a free massage (the line was surprisingly short!) later, I finally got around to checking my time. I thought "well I felt fast today, so I bet I beat 30 minutes at least" (my previous best was about 31 minutes). Lo and behold, I find myself on the result sheet and see 25:51.... And then did a double take. 25:51?! Seriously?! I blew what I though I ran by 4 minutes?! An 8:19 pace?! Is this imagination land?!
As you can see I was surprised
The only rough part was that was only good for 28 out of 44 runners in my age group. It was competitive! Our top guy in the 35-39 was 6th overall and was at about 16 minutes! Anyway, the crowds were pretty good and it was a super fun race, especially since I hadn't planned on running it. I'd recommend it to anyone!
Caveat: if you do the 10k, there is an enormous hill. The nice thin is it's brick, which I find a really fun barefoot surface.
