Friday, June 13, 2014

Guelph Lake 5K - Race Report

My first road 5k race and my first overall win of any kind! No...really...I actually won the race outright. Crazy. Granted, this was just a small local race, and the dude who won the 10k and the gal who was 2nd probably would've dusted me based on their 10k times, and the fact they were already a couple seconds ahead of me at the 5k turnaround point. But, still, a win is a win as they say.

Imagine my surprise when we reached the 5k turnaround point and the two people ahead me kept going. I even asked the kid "manning" the point if he said anything as they went by because I was sure they simply missed the tiny sign that read "5k turnaround" attached to an orange cone in the middle of the road. 

His reply, "I don't know. They must be running the 10k." Great job bud. Way to tackle your duty with enthusiasm and vigor. 

In an instant my race had changed completely. I went from trying to hang on to the two in front of me to being the leader of the race. As the leader, I had my own marshall out in front on his bike with his high visibility vest clearing the narrow road of oncoming race participants. I could hear him saying, "To the right. Leader coming through." There were chants of encouragement from friends and complete strangers as I made my way back. This was a first for me, and it felt great. 

However, with this race leader position came a unique brand of pressure I'd obviously never felt before to maintain the lead. Unfortunately, the undulating nature of the course coupled with a fast start trying to hang on to the 10k leaders were taking a toll on my body. My Garmin was set to beep at every 1k split and I noticed by the 3k mark each one was slower than the last. My breathing was heavy and labored. I was experiencing the weird stiff, dead leg thing I sometimes get in my right leg at higher speeds or very long distances (need to get that figured out). Even my arms were aching. I was going into maximum oxygen uptake/deprivation. Maybe the fact that I only had ten minutes to warm-up for this race was coming back to haunt me. 

"OK. You're winning this damn thing. Don't blow it." I knew I had a decent lead at the turnaround and I hadn't looked back since. 

"Just back off for small stretch. Get your breathing back in order and then maintain. Maybe I should walk for a bit? At the very least I could back it down to 4min km and still come in under 19 minutes, and I'd be happy with that." These are some of the things that went through my head between the 3-4k markers. Not exactly positive thinking. I was in a pain hole, and I was on my own. And, my brain, muscles, and organs weren't getting the vital oxygen they needed.

"1K to go, Eric. Looking good." My dedicated bike marshall hollered back to me. He was obviously lying about the looking good part.

"1K...that's it? Shit, I got this." I had entered my suffer hole, but come out the other side. I began to recognize aspects of the course. Onlookers began to appear. I could hear the faint sound of race director John on the P.A. system just around the corner and over the hill.

"400 meters, Eric. Bring it home." My trusty bike marshall had peeled off to the left.

As I crested the hill I heard something I won't soon forget. "And, here comes our 5k leader, Eric Schwindt, making his way towards the finish." 

I finished in 18:20, which I am very satisfied with considering the course is quite hilly and I only had four weeks of speed training in the bag. Things are trending in the right direction and I'm looking forward to this summer's upcoming races. Next up, the Summer's Night Classical 5K on July 9th.

Best part...I won a free pair of New Balance running shoes from The Running Works, which I'm going to collect right now.


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