8K PR!

I ran my first 8K and also my first night race back on Friday, as the State Troopers Association and a local restaurant paired up to put a Freaky Friday event together for a 9 pm start.

Some folks dressed up for Halloween-- some dressed as basketball/football referees, lots of tutus, and a few kitty cat outfits worn by girls and other women. Some came dressed as runners, including myself-- I dressed as a Kenyan runner.

The weather was a little chilly, with temps in the upper 40s. I had my race team shirt on, followed by my running hoodie (worn the day I completed my half marathon) and new red vest. I also had racing tights on underneath my wind pants, as well as my new beanie cap. So, yeah, I overdressed a little. Also provided was a racing light, which was pretty critical. I've run every step of the course many times over, but you're unsure of your footing since there is no lighting for much of it.

I chose a goal time of 40 minutes, or 8:00 per mile. I've been running sub-8 in 5K races, and I wanted to see if I could hold it for five miles. So I put my foot on the accelerator and took off. Turns out the pace was pretty quick-- 7:42 for the first mile. Something I can't really explain is how my heart rate monitor pegged at 220 and 208 in the first five minutes, before settling in the low 170s for the first few miles, and the mid to upper 170s later on. So yeah, I was redlining it.

I finally got my pace under control a little, as my next five half-mile splits were 3:57-4:02, with a max of 4:05 on the eighth split, which translates to an 8:11 mile, by far my worst. I had decided to hold the pace as long as I could, and I really wasn't sure I would be able to.

My best half-mile split was the last one-- 3:49. So there was something left for a bit of a finishing kick and a 39:24 finish.

Now I mentioned how I overdressed, and how you dress for 10 degrees warmer than it actually is, since once you start running, your body will heat itself. I sweated through my shirt, hoodie and vest. All were soaked, as was my cap. I was 4th in my new 40-44 age group, with third place two minutes ahead of me. But I was very pleased with my run-- I gave everything I had and beat my goal time by 40 seconds, placing 27th out of 113.

It brought a close to easy week-- my first easy week with some meat on the bones. Some intervals during a five-miler Monday and the effort here. Back up to near 30 in the weeks to come.