Run the Runway 5K, Paso Robles, CA Race Review

The Run the Runways 5K seemed like the perfect 5K  It was advertised as being completely flat race where runners would run the runways.  It was to be chip timed and include a pancake breakfast.  I wasn’t looking for a 5K, because I am in the middle of half training.  Actually, the 10K race, at the same time, would have fit better into my training, but the 5K really intrigued me.  I subbed 22 in a 5K in 2012.  I did it again last May with a PR of 21:45, but, generally, my 5K time is a 22:XX.  I’ve had a hard time subbing 22.  But I had a feeling that this flat race could be a major PR.  My training, this year, has been very specific to the half marathon (and marathon before that) but I knew my endurance was much improved.  Almost as soon as I saw the advertisement, I went to active.com and signed up for the 5K.

The race started at 7:00 and the location was about 1.25 hours from my house.  I left my house at 5:25AM.  The venue was cold, but I was dressed appropriately, so I felt good.  The organizers set up several heat lamps while I was waiting to check in.  It was cold, yes, but I thought that heat lamps might be unnecessary.  After all, the race was going to start soon.  Within an hour, it would be too warm for heat lamps.  Shouldn’t everyone be running around warming up anyway?  I had no time to ponder it all, because I needed to get moving.  At check in, I saw a master’s runner that I’ve seen at the last few races.  As we talked, he amazed me with his memory for details.  He knew my name and he also remembered details about the last race that I had long forgotten.  We wished each other luck and went our separate ways to warm-up.  As I deposited the shirt in my car and collected my racing gear, I realized that this race could not possibly be chip timed.  There was no chip embedded in the bib and nothing in the bag for my shoe.  I thought that possibly I was mistaken and that there was a chip somewhere in the bib, but I didn’t have time to think about it.  I needed to warm-up.  For once, my timing was absolutely perfect.  At exactly 6:58AM, I jogged to the heat lamps where everyone had congregated.  At that exact moment, I heard an announcement that the race would start in 10 minutes.  What the heck?  It’s freezing.  I thought that there would be a mass exodus from the heat lamps of people doing laps around the planes, but no one moved.  I knew that I couldn’t stand there turning into a popsicle for the next 10 minutes, so off I went to do plane laps.  Really, it was for the best, because all the little aches and pains started to go away.  When my ankles started to feel warmed up, I called it quits and ran to the heat lamps and started doing leg swings.  At about that time, a woman ran up to me and enthusiastically yelled “inkburn!”  Yes, I was wearing a complete inkburn ensemble from head to toe.  She had on an inkburn top, so we talked about our love of inkburn, and I told her about the yellow butterfly outfit that I would soon be sporting.  Eventually, the announcement came to go to the start.

At the start, there was no big clock, but instead one guy holding a stop watch.  As if the race director read my mind, he assured us that the course was properly measured.  Again, we were told that the race would start shortly.  The poor woman next to me, turned to me and said that she was freezing.  She was wearing shorts and a tank top accessorized with gigantic goose bumps all over her arms and legs.  The woman was visually shaking as she expressed jealously over my tights and long sleeves.  I tried to console her with a story of how I did the same thing a few years ago.  Finally, the bull horn sounded.  I had planted myself right at the tape, because without chip timing I didn’t want to lose a second.  I thought I started out pretty fast and made a conscious effort to slow it down.  Looking at the splits, I probably could have pushed harder in the beginning.  I passed a few people and set my sights on passing a young gal in front of me. (I mean really young, like maybe 13) As I closed the gap between us, I gained confidence that I would pass her.  In my experience, young people often lose steam in the last mile.  Every now and then she would flip her long pony tail to see exactly where I was.  I stayed within 50 meters of her for the entire race.  She never slowed, but I had hope that I could catch her until the very last.

After, the tween that I was chasing walked right up to me and shook my hand like a little professional who takes names and numbers for a living.  In the end, I had a major PR.  I ran 21:21 (with negative-ish splits).  I stopped my Garmin as soon as I crossed the line, and I asked the time keeper for my time.  He confirmed my Garmin time.  I asked him where the results board would be and he told me that racers could check on-line.  After a moment, I asked him to direct me toward the water.  He seemed puzzled and pointed vaguely.  I went about 100 meters to a table and asked someone else.  That person pointed to a table that had a stack of bottled water on the ground.  I went over, opened the pack and pulled one out.  It was really ridiculous to not even have a table with water, but I was on a PR high.  I spent a few minutes mingling with other racers before I went back to the car to put away my gear.  I was looking forward to my pancake breakfast.

Of course, there were no pancakes to be had, but they did have burritos and very good coffee.  I sat down with some friendly runners and had some excellent breakfast conversation.  After a while, a couple of us left the area to search for the promised raffle.  We found it, but it was, actually, already in progress.

The Run the Runways 5K could have been spectacular.  It gave runners an amazing opportunity to run the runways.  My PR made up for all of the mishaps of the race, but the race itself was terribly managed.  It was an inaugural race, so if it is held again, I hope the director makes some changes.

 In my post race analysis, I think that I was too conservative in the beginning.  I've never maintained a 7 minute mile throughout an entire race, so I got scared when I looked down at my watch and saw 6:45 during the first half mile.  I should have tried to slow to 6:50 and tried to have maintained 6:50 for the first 1.5 miles.   I was too scared too be bold, because I have blown too many 5Ks in the first mile.

I'm thrilled about this PR for two reasons.  First, I'll be 46 years old soon.  I may never PR in the 5K again.  Second, for me, this PR is validation of all my training. The McMillian calculator is usually right on the money for me.  With this 5K time, I feel confident that I can pull off a 1:38 half and that would put me in a great position for Boston training.