Race Report, Lupus Loop 5k

Today, I ran the Lupus Loop 5k here is grand old Philadelphia. Last week the 5k I ran wan't the best organized event I had ever been to and I was starting to rethink the wisdom of the 5k in my training schedule. But I saw that the Lupus Loop 5k had over 800 finishers last year. I thought that a 5k that big has to be well organized and of course the cause is good. To be truthful I was a bit hearbroken at the race. There were more than one t-shirt from people in memory of deceased children, just sad.

The run organizers were great. This was nice. Lots of post race refreshments, efficient people helping out at registration, local radio station on hand to keep people pumped up and as I said before a good cause. I had a great time and was lucky not to park in the mud that others were stuck in post race.

As Nancy and I had a competition as to the 11:00 mile. The competition is to be the first to complete 3 miles where each mile is 11:00 or faster for each mile. The last 5k I ran I ran an exact 11:00 pace for the three miles. But I ran a very good mile 1 and a slightly less impressive mile 2 and 3. Today, I tried to really manage my pace.

The Miles

Mile 1: 11:00 exactly - I don't think I could have done this any better. I started fast and then backed off to conserve some energy for the remaining two miles. I did well kicking it up for the first .6 and then backing off for the next .25 before kicking up again.


Mile 2: 10:53 - This was a good mile we climbed the first .3 and then came down for most of the remaining mile. I was able to conserve some energy and rest while going faster than I usually do. I covered a stretch of about .35 where I was going about 9:40 pace.

Mile 3: 10:52 - This was the hardest part of the run. I usually run an 11:10 to 11:40 pace. So running at a pace that was 20 to 40 seconds faster was taking its toll on me. I started to slow and had to really concentrate on kicking it up to keep pace. This was hard as there was a hill near the half way mark that really was killing me. But I hung in there and finished at my goal. I then stopped to tie a shoe that came undone with .2 to go. I then walked the remaining .1.



What an adventure. I have to say thanks to Nancy, without out little deal I would not have taken the training as seriously. Thanks for pushing me over the top. Although it was fun to win, I really don't want anything, the satisfaction of breaking the 11:00 barrier was joy enough. One more goal achieved, running is great.