GW Parkway Classic 5K: Slower, but "Faster"

This morning I ran the GW Parkway Classic 5K. I had only run this race once in the past back in 2008, when I ran a 23:58. This race also offers a 10-mile race (which is what the event is known for) and I had run that three times, although two of them had been marathon-pace training runs. The 5K is

GW Parkway Classic

the last 5K of the 10-mile course, which runs along the scenic Potomac River.

The GW Parkway Classic is a point-to-point course. Shuttle busses drop runners off at the start line and they run back to the finish line in Old Town, Alexandria. The last bus leaves at 7:00, and the race starts at 8:00. Greg and I didn't think it made sense to arrive at the race an hour an a half before the start and take the bus, so we parked about 2 miles away from the start and simply ran our warmup to the start.

Let me back up a bit.

Last Friday, I ran the Crystal City 5K Friday, in a time of 20:44. It was an evening race and I felt remarkably fast and strong for a warm (70-degree) race that was held at a time when I am usually getting ready for bed! My Garmin clocked an average pace of 6:34 for 3.16 miles, which yielded an official time of 20:44. This was a six-second PR.

I figured that the GW Parkway course, which only has two turns, would be much faster, simply because I wouldn't lose momentum with so many turns and I'd be able to run the tangents, for a Garmin distance of closer to 3.1 miles. Not to mention, the weather was forecast to be much cooler (49 degrees at the start). I figured with all of this in my favor, I would be able to take at least 10 seconds off of my official time; probably even more.

My week of training in between the two races looked like this:

Saturday: 10.2 miles easy @ 8:50 avg.

Sunday: 3.5 miles easy @ 8:39 avg.

Monday: 4 x (600m hard, 200m recovery, 200m hard, 3 minutes recovery). My splits were 2:20, 0:42, 2:16, 0:41, 2:16, 0:41, 2:15, 0:41. So the 600's were between a pace of 6:00-6:20, and the 200's were around 5:30.

Tuesday: 8.6 miles easy @ 8:37 avg.

Wednesday: 2 miles at "steady state" and 1 mile hard. The company I worked for hosted a 5K race at

5K Race to benefit STEM for Her at MicroStrategy World

its annual conference, which just happened to be occurring a few miles from the GW Parkway Classic finish area. I didn't want to race it at full effort, given the 5K from the previous Friday and the 5K on the upcoming Sunday. My splits were 7:16, 7:15, 6:43.  Including warm up and cool down, I ran 5.8 miles.

Thursday: 7.5 miles easy @ 8:21 avg. I was still at the conference, so I had the opportunity to run across the Wilson Bridge, which connects Maryland (where the conference was) to Virginia (where the GW Parkway Race is). I scoped out the course on the Virginia side and figured out where we could park. This was a beautiful run, and it made me think that I should do my long runs in more scenic locations instead of my local neighborhood routes.

Friday and Saturday were both easy low-mileage days, and I felt strong and ready for the GW Parkway race.

Before the Race
Greg and I ran to the start line, and much to Greg's dismay, the porta potty line was extremely long. I, thankfully, did not need to use one, so I continued my warm up. About ten minutes later I found Greg still in line! And he had quite a few people in front of him. There were only 5 porta potties and this race had over 1,300 runners. Definitely not enough, especially since most runners arrived at the start line over an hour in advance.

It was getting late, and Greg wanted to stay in line and wait, so I made my way alone to the start line. Annoyingly, there was a group of about 5-10 children, who looked to be about six years old at the very front. They had an adult with them and the adult was telling them not to line up in the first row, but it was okay for them to be in the second row. I knew they would go out blazing fast and then I'd have to weave my way around them during the first quarter of a mile. With two minutes to go, there was still no sign of Greg. But finally he appeared, with only about 30 seconds to spare.

Mile 1: 6:35
My plan was to run the first mile at 6:31-6:32. The first mile is flat, and I wanted to run my goal pace for the first mile. Much to my surprise, the pace on my Garmin did not match my effort level. I thought I was running really hard, and for most of the mile, I was barely below 6:40. But, I didn't

The bib even matched, and I had orange socks.

judge it, and I didn't do anything foolish like try and surge that early. The race started going south on the parkway, and after a quarter of a mile, we turned around and ran north. We would run north for the remainder of the race, and I'm not sure what the reason was for the turnaround at the start. I noticed there were about 5-6 women ahead of me. I passed the first one about half a mile in, and I passed the second one at the first mile marker. Greg was not very far ahead of me. Typically he goes out really fast in 5Ks and I can't even see him; that's how it was in Crystal City. But I figured I was in good shape if I was only running about 4-5 seconds behind him.

I had to keep reminding myself not to adjust my shorts, which kept riding up. I had fallen in love with a pair of Nike Pro shorts because they matched my McMillan racing gear so perfectly. But they were not comfortable, and probably looked more like briefs by the end of the race. I kept wanting to adjust them throughout the race, but I knew that would take energy away from running so I resisted the urge.

Mile 2: 6:42
This mile was really tough. There was a hill (which didn't look that long or steep) but I really slowed down on it. I think the issue was the headwind. Based on the Crystal City race, I really thought I should have been able to run faster, but I couldn't. I was working really, really hard and I felt pretty good; but my pace simply wasn't as fast as I expected. Most of this mile actually hovered around 6:50 until the downhill, when I really surged and passed a guy, and brought my average pace down significantly.

Mile 3: 6:35
This mile started up a hill that was steeper than the previous one, but shorter. I worked my way up the hill and couldn't even bring myself to look at the pace on my Garmin. We turned a corner and the rest of the mile was one long straightaway to the finish line, on a road offered a slight decline. One of my colleagues who lives in Alexandria was cheering for me shortly after the turn. I knew to expect her

and it gave me a burst of energy to hear her call my name. I was hurting pretty badly by this point and I wondered how I would ever make it to the finish line without slowing down. I noticed that Greg had widened the gap substantially. He was going for sub-20:00 and I wondered if he would make it.

I really liked this part of the course because it was mainly flat with a slight decline, and it was really wide with plenty of space to run. But the headwind made it challenging. I can't complain too much about it because it was 10 mph, which is not that strong, and the overall weather was fantastic. But, it definitely made that last mile (and actually the whole race) more challenging than anticipated. I was running slower than I had hoped for, but I was still motivated to get a PR because I knew this course would end up being "shorter" than the one from last Friday.

As I approached the finish line, I was able to slightly increase my speed, and I approached a woman who I had in my sights for the entire race. I was really closing the gap on her, and when I passed the mile 3 mark, I really surged to try and pass her.

The last 0.12: 6:11 pace
She noticed me, though, and she pushed harder and ended up beating me by two seconds. After the race, she thanked me for showing up because she said it motivated her to push even harder. She motivated me to push as well, so it was mutual!

My official time was 20:38, which is a PR by six seconds! Interestingly, the Crystal City 5K was also a six-second PR from my previous time of 20:50. So in the last 9 days, I have shaved 12 seconds off of my 5K PR. This also means that I have set THREE PRs in the month of April: one at the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, one at the Crystal City 5K, and another one today.

After the Race
I found Greg and he told me he ran a 20:02. This was a PR for him by seven seconds, although it wasn't the sub-20:00 he had hoped for. We walked around looking for race results to see where we ranked. I thought I was either the 4th or 5th woman overall. We couldn't find results posted anywhere, so we ran about a mile to where my friend/colleague had been cheering-- which was right in front of her house. She had fresh muffins in the oven and offered us fruit, waffles and coffee. Before indulging, we checked the results on her computer (we don't run with our phones) and as it turned out, I was the first woman in my age group, and 4th overall female finisher out of 870.

So back we ran to the finish line area. We asked when and where the 5K awards would be, and they told us they weren't going to happen for another hour, and that my prize would be a medal. I didn't really want to wait that long, and I decided I would much rather go back to my friend's house and relax. I later learned I can pick up my medal at the running store in Alexandria.

Final Thoughts and Takeaways
One thing that I learned in sports psychology is that it's useful to look at both metrics: official race pace and Garmin pace. The difference between these two is the inability to run perfect tangents, or running a course that is not USATF certified.

Arguably, the Garmin pace is more important. Why? Unless you're a professional athlete, your race time actually doesn't matter. It's important because it shows your personal achievement. But in that case, wouldn't a more accurate measure of personal achievement be to use the same timing system/device across all runs?  I'm sure many runners would disagree with me, especially in this day and age of social media where you don't want to be accused of inaccurately representing your ability. Official is official is official.

I can say with complete confidence that I ran the Crystal City 5K faster than I ran this race, even though my official time says otherwise. I am actually more pleased with my performance last week than with my performance this morning. I think that the course from last week was harder, and I ran it faster. But does that mean I can't celebrate my new official PR? Nope! 20:38 it is, and I'll be having PR cake this evening with a time of 20:38. (Come back later for photos).

I'm looking forward to hitting the track pretty hard over the next few weeks so that I can try and chip away even more at my 5K pace. I'd love to be able to run a 20:17 at some point in 2017. Probably in the fall, but I'll try my best over the summer.

Workouts Galore

Time for a good ol' fashion workout recap post. I haven't blogged much about my training lately.

I've had some great workouts recently, primarily the ones with my team-- Capital Area Runners. Given how warm it was this winter and earlier in the season, I've been pleasantly surprised by the perfect running weather we've had over the past few weeks. I'm still having to wear gloves and long sleeves on some of my runs, and I love that!

I'll focus on my three "quality" workouts over the past week.

Sunday, April 22: 10-mile Progression Run
I was registered for the GW Parkway Classic 10-miler. My coach suggested that instead of racing it, that I make it into a quality workout. The race course is on a concrete surface (not as much "give" as asphalt) with a lot of rolling hills so it can really trash the legs. Since I already had a solid 10-mile PR for the season, I was totally fine with not racing this one all out. Greg didn't want to race it at full effort either, so we ran together.

My coach's suggestion was to run the first 3 miles as an easy warmup, the next 3 at marathon pace, and the last 4 at half marathon/10-mile race pace. I was more than happy to comply and Greg ran it with me at these paces.

We got to the race, it was drizzling and in the mid 50's. We ran a 15-minute warmup just to get some extra mileage in, since this race was in place of a long run.

Mile 1: 8:16
Mile 2: 8:25
Mile 3: 8:35

It looks like I went out too fast here, but the first mile is entirely downhill and I always run based on effort. If it was an uphill mile, it probably would have been 9:16.

Mile 4: 8:19
Mile 5: 8:14
Mile 6: 7:47

Mile 6 was another completely downhill mile, so even though it looks to be much faster than MP, the effort was consistent with miles 4 and 5.

Mile 7: 7:42
Mile 8: 7:47
Mile 9: 7:55
Mile 10: 7:33

Mile 9 sucked. It was mainly uphill and there was a noticeable headwind. I was actually pretty discouraged that I wasn't running any faster here. After all, my 10-mile PR pace is 7:34, and I couldn't even do 4 miles at that pace?! But I eventually came to my senses and realized that tempo pace is tempo pace. It's going to be hard even if you haven't just come off 7 previous miles at that pace. Especially up a hill.

My finish time was 1:20:48 at an average pace of 8:05. I was disappointed in my last few miles, but when I woke up the next morning and my legs didn't feel even a hint of soreness, I realized that I definitely could have run harder, and it was good that I didn't overexert myself. My coach also pointed out that my first mile of the "easy warmup" section was faster than the first mile of the MP section, which wasn't according to the plan. Of course I retorted that it was a downhill, but I probably should have saved up more juice.

Tuesday, April 24: Track Intervals
I had such a great workout just two days after the 10-miler, that I was even more satisfied with my decision to not race the 10-miler. I was happy to have peppy legs and plenty of energy left to crank out some fast intervals. The workout was a ladder: 400m, 800m, 1200m, 1200m, 800m, 400m, with 1/2 distance recovery jogs.

Interval	Duration	Distance (miles)	Pace
1	1:35	400m	6:17
2	3:18	800m	6:37
3	4:59	1200m	6:40
4	4:59	1200m	6:40
5	3:14	800m	6:28
6	1:28	400m	5:54

Interestingly, the 1200m intervals were close in pace to the 800's. One thing I've noticed about my running is that I am able to maintain a challenging pace for a good distance, but it's hard for me to speed up. I've run quite a few races where I felt like I could have continued on for another mile or so at my pace, but I just couldn't push it any faster. This summer, I am hoping to push more for speed with shorter track intervals and short races.

Even though lately I've been excelling more at shorter distances, I think my body is built more for endurance than speed. When I had a VO2 max test, the exercise physiologist said that I was in the 10% of runners who actually do better in longer races. This is because my body works aerobically at a higher percentage of my max heart rate. Ironically, I have yet to prove this with the marathon, but a few years back, my longer races were always "faster" than my shorter ones, according to the various calculators. I've often set shorter distance PRs within longer races.

Ultimately, it's hard to truly figure it out because so much depends on what your body is capable of on that particular day. There's really a lack of research and studies on many things regarding running performance because you can never replicate racing conditions 100%. Okay, enough of that tangent. Point is, I want to be able to push harder in shorter races.

Friday, April 27: Tempo Run
My coach had most of us run a 5K tempo on the track. I really like the idea of a 5K tempo versus just 3 miles, because then you can really practice hammering that last 0.1. My target tempo pace for a 5K is around 7:11, but lately I haven't been paying much attention to targets (all of the above paces were faster than target) and running based on feel.

Mile 1: 7:11
Mile 2: 7:10
Mile 3: 7:03
0.1: (6:35 pace)

My time was 22:03, which was a bit surprising to me given the effort level. I didn't feel like I was really pushing until the last two laps, and my heart rate stayed at the lower end of my tempo range. It certainly wasn't easy-- tempo runs never are. I practiced staying focused and relaxed and that helped the laps fly by.

This morning I woke up and my legs felt like new, which further validated that even though I ran my fastest tempo ever, I didn't overdo it. I went out for 11 miles at a moderate pace and it felt fantastic. I can't emphasize enough how much I love this cool weather!

Missed.

I was supposed to run the GW Parkway Classic 5K as my first race post injury. The race is scheduled for Sunday morning. However, if the government were to have shut down, there would be no race. My backup plan was the Crystal City 5K last Friday night.

At 6:00pm, it looked as if the government would in fact shut down. No decision had been made and they were still arguing over what they were actually arguing over. Plus, one of the articles I read said that even if they DID agree to something, there wouldn't be enough time to write something up and make it official by midnight. So I went ahead and raced Crystal City, telling myself I would cry and throw stuff if the government didn't shut down and I could have raced the Parkway. I thought about finding another 5K on Sunday as a backup instead. But none of the ones I found were as appealing as the Crystal City race. And then I would be kicking myself for not running Crystal City. 

There are quite a few reasons I would have preferred the Parkway over Crystal City. After all, I don't shell out $45 for just any 5K. The Parkway Classic is special to me. I registered for this race long after it closed, thanks to my affiliation with Pacers. And when I did, I was super excited about it. I love this race because the course is fast, it's well organized, it's point-to-point and I've participated most every year since 2006. The weather forecast for Sunday at 8:00am was overcast and 53 with nearly no wind. Ideal. Crystal City, on the other hand, was rainy, slippery, windy at points, and with quite a few hairpin turns.

When I woke up this morning, I did cry and throw stuff. The Parkway Classic is on and the Government didn't shutdown. I made the wrong choice.

I want to run the Parkway Classic!!!!! Badly. But I know it's not smart because I am just returning from multiple stress fractures. And I might be disappointed with my time, having just run a 5K less than 48 hours prior. Dammit!!!! I just feel so stupid. I should have known that those politicians wanted to look like heroes at the last minute. I should have just found another 5K backup and had more faith that the Parkway Classic would run. And why, why did the government have to wait to the very last minute to make this decision! Seriously!!???  You couldn't have come up with this on Friday morning? 

Anyway, my race was so-so. I ran a strong first mile, had a difficult time in the second mile, but then came back strong during the last mile. And the point 0.1 might have been my slowest ever for a 5K. . . . 

The course: relatively flat, but with inclines and declines, about three hair-pin turns and several "curve-arounds" with a curvy uphill finish.

Mile 1: 7:08

This was my goal pace for the race, and I was elated that I ran exactly on pace for the first mile.

Mile 2: 7:24

What I didn't realize about mile 1 was that the wind was at my back. It wasn't an overly windy night, but with all the tall buildings in Crystal City and the gusts that would come, it got to be very tiring. There was about a half-mile stretch during the second mile where I was running directly into the wind and the course was on an incline and I just felt like I was in a losing battle. At one point, my hat flew off  my head, and I was barely able to catch it. I ran the rest of the race holding my hat. I was actually in the 7:30's for most of the mile, but as it ended, I was able to pick up the pace a bit and net a 7:24. 

Mile 3: 7:12

I was highly discouraged by my second mile split and knew my goal of a 7:08 average was shot. But I still wanted to run strong so I forced myself to push. I passed several people in this mile, which was very encouraging. 

Last 0.1: Slow.

Slippery Surface Finish

I didn't stop my Garmin as soon as I crossed the line, so I am not sure exactly what my pace was here, but my problem was that this finish was around a curve, that was going uphill, on a slippery wet brick surface. Because the surface was more slippery than the rest of the course due to it being brick and it was on a curve, I was afraid to take this fast and slip so I actually slowed. My Garmin data shows a spike at a 14:45 pace during that last 0.1. 

Official time: 22:41, 20 seconds slower than my PR.

I wasn't thrilled, but I also think it's a decent time, given my highest mileage week was 18 miles and prior to that it was even lower. I was also happy that my shins didn't hurt. I never take that for granted. I think that the wind in the second mile, combined with the slippery pavement and hairpin turns really affected my momentum. This is why I think that I would have run maybe 15-20 seconds faster on the Parkway. No hairpin turns, the pavement wouldn't be wet, the forecast doesn't have the wind. The last stretch is on a long straightaway so you can see the finish line and have a strong final kick. That last 0.1 last night was my slowest portion of the race, simply because of the wet brick surface going on a curved uphill. 

Have I mentioned yet that I REALLY want to run the GW Parkway Classic tomorrow?????  It's going to take all the restraint I have to not go and run it. I just have to remind myself that even though the risk of re-injury is very small, if I were to get re-injured, I would seriously never forgive myself. And after having raced last night, I don't think my performance would be what it could have been if I hadn't done Crystal City.  I'm so frustrated!!!!!!! And I know it sounds horrible, but now I am just insanely jealous of everyone who does get to run the Parkway. 

I am still blaming myself and feeling like I am so stupid for deciding to race last night. I really wasn't in the mood for it. I felt sluggish all day. BLAH! :-( 

The good news is that I was one of the top ten women: 9 out of 396. This is the top 97th percentile, so I guess I really can't complain about that. 

My next race is the Crystal City 5K on Friday, April 22. Hopefully I'll do better, but I feel like everything these days is just out of my control. All I can do is try my hardest.

Pesky Little 5K

Every time I run a 5K, about halfway through, I ask myself why I registered for this race? What am I doing here? Why do I subject myself to such torture? My lungs ache almost the entire way as I struggle for oxygen. At the end I am always gasping for breath, and I have to wait a few minutes to even be able to remove my chip from my shoe.

But then I ask myself when the next one is. 

The 5K is a very frustrating distance for me. My key strength or "sweet spot" in marathoning is the pacing strategy. I always run even splits, with each mile being run at about the same pace. I've also run negative splits, both in full and half marathons. When it comes to the 5K, though, I cannot pace myself. In my marathoner's mind, I think "Only 3.1 miles- I should be able to run this way faster than marathon pace!" So I go out at a pace that feels fast, which I can only maintain for about 1.5 miles, before slowing down.

This morning I ran the GW Parkway Classic 5K. I was not expecting a PR because I am still recovering from the two marathon I ran, just four weeks apart. I've also spent the past six weeks with knee issues, so my training has been at an all-time low. What I was expecting was a sub-24:00 race, and a possible age group award, based on last year's results.

This was a point-to-point race. They bus you to the start and then you run back to where you parked your car. The race has a 10-mile event, which I ran back in 2006. The 5K is the last 5K of the 10 miles. I knew what to expect, but I had forgotten about the major hill in the third mile. Additionally, we were running into a headwind the entire time. It wasn't a significant amount of wind, but any little bit can have an impact in such a short race.

I warmed up for about half a mile at an easy pace, also including some quick sprints to tune up my legs. I lined up near the front of pack and started chatting with the runners. The race started and I began to run at what seemed to be a "comfortably hard" pace. I would have estimated my pace at about 7:45. However, when I passed the first mile, the clock read 7:20, and I was worried that I made my classic pacing mistake: going out too fast.

During mile two, I paid for mile one. I clocked an 8:04, which really, really should not happen for me during a 5K! I have run faster miles in half-marathons! I tried to pick it up for the last mile. I was pushing really hard, but I felt so extremely tired. I wanted to stop and walk so badly! I ran up the steep hill at a snail's pace, and then down again at a much faster pace. Aboout 200 meters from the finish line, two girls who seemed to be in my age group came from behind me and attempted to pass me. Oh no! I wouldn't let them. I started to sprint, giving myself a nice lead over them. With about 100 meters to go, I eased up on my sprint, and they caught up again. We were neck and neck until almos the finish, but ultimately, they finished first.

I looked at the clock, which read 24:00, and my chip time ended up being 23:58. 28 seconds slower than my PR, but not my slowest 5K ever. I wasn't particularly pleased with my time, but I wasn't devastated either. I was mainly mad at myself for my poor pacing, and was wondering how much time I could have shaved off if I ran that first mile just 10 seconds slower.



What frustrates me even more is that I have not made much progress in this distance in the past year an a half. In November 2006, I ran a 23:32. My PR is only two seconds faster, set in June 2007. Considering that I have brought my marathon time down from 4:24 in the Fall of 2006, to 3:51, you would think that my 5K time would come down with it. But nope, it hasn't budged!!!! I know that I am not in as good of shape right now as I was when I ran that Shamrock marathon, but still!

Nevertheless, I was satisfied with my placing. And just one place short of winning 3rd in my age group (the first and second place overall winners were in my age group, removing them from the "age group" competition).

Time: 23:58
Pace: 7:43

6 out of 177 women aged 20-29
65 out of 876 total finishers (male & female)

My knee didn't hurt during the race, but it hurt afterwards. I am going to take the next few days off, and log maybe a total of 15 miles this week. My goal is to let my knee heal so that I can begin training for my next marathon in early June. (BTW, this is a different knee issue than the one I was experiencing pre-London. That was a shoe issue. This new issue is patellar tendonitis.)