Kickin Asphalt
Last week was a fairly easy week due to the Valdosta 5k on the fourth of July. I ran my normal route Monday and Tuesday. Monday was a really good training run and finished in under 30 minutes again. I am really noticing my training pace dropping the more I run. It seems though that I need more recovery time because of running barefoot. My newly activated stabilizer muscles in my feet and legs tend to be sore. I was at my normal pace on Tuesday but rested on Wednesday.
Thursday came and I had initially decided to rest until my race on Sunday. Well rain also came with Thursday and I couldn't resist. It is absolutely one of my favorite things to do and I jump at the opportunity to run in the rain. I ran a lot farther than I had initially planned, but it was really a great run.
During my Thursday run, I did something I have never done. I ran through grass. To be honest I am more scared of running through grass. I feel like I can't see everything in the grass. Grass catches a lot of debris and certain plant life that are protective in nature. (i.e. thorns)
View my 6.41 mile through the elements here...Shop through the library trail to 5k turn around marker and back by jamesjoshua1119 at Garmin Connect - Details
Now on to the main event, the Valdosta 5k. This race had the best turn out for a race that I have attended in Valdosta. Over 225 people showed up to trek the 3.1 miles to downtown Valdosta.
Before the start of the race I kept hearing how fast of a course this was. My goal was to finish in under 22:00. It would be a personal record for me for barefoot running and a good break to getting back to where I was before, with shoes. My fastest 5k since I started running competitively was 20:02. A record I plan to shatter barefoot. I tend to start out slower and pick up pace as the race goes on. If I start off too fast I end up slowing down toward the end and running out of gas. I was keeping pretty close to a 7:15 pace knowing that I would really need to kick it up toward the end to beat my goal.
Once thing I have noticed is I have to run my own race and not fall into cadence with other runners. I have to separate myself from those who are below and even exceed my athletic ability. If I am trying to keep up with the rabbits I will gas out, but if I slack and hang with the turtles I will not meet my goal. A couple of times I noticed myself slowing down because I was getting comfortable running at someone else's pace. I had to keep telling myself to pick it it up.
Looking at my Garmin I notice I am half way down. Time to turn up the heat. 1.25 left...1 mile left...let's go. I start picking a couple of people off and passing them. One girl looked down at my feet and said "You're brave...Why did you start running barefoot?" In my head I am thinking girl if you got energy to talk, you got energy to push it. I told her I would explain later...after all, I got goals. I got .75 miles left...down to .5 miles...there were five people ahead of me that were within overtaking. New objective...pass those people. Bad or not, I really get a energy boost by passing people or having people ahead of me to try and catch. One down four to go...three down two to go...finish line is coming up. I got less than 50 yards to catch this guy and pass him. I can hear onlookers call out the guys name and as we were within 10 yards of the finish chute I passed him and wanted to say "Check out the bottom of my feet" as I was passing him. I had to control that urge as that would not have been good sportsmanship. It turns out that the course was fast, I passed the finish line and the official time clocked me running it in 21:29.4! Check out the results below.
Valdosta 5k by jamesjoshua1119 at Garmin Connect - Details
posted by James Joshua Barton @ 4:06 PM
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