1st annual Barney Shirey Memorial 5k

Daily mileage: 3.1
Week to Date mileage- 11.77

Race Time: 24:47 - 5K
Conditions were very sunny and warm -78 degrees @ 8:00am

I participated in the Barney Shirey Memorial 5K today in Tecumseh, OK. It was to honor a man from the area who died of a massive stroke last December. The race was to bring recognition to this dreadful health issue and all proceeds were donated for heart disease and stroke prevention. There was a great turnout. Well over 300 participants. Even Rumble the Bison was on hand to start the race.

The course was not the best course in the world as it weaved through the residential streets of Tecumseh. There was a lot of bad places along the way, but still was manageable. They had water at approximately every KM marker. I was once again frustrated that a race did not have split times or KM markers visable. It makes it hard to pace yourself if you do not know how far you have to run. I am a little down on myself as this was the first morning race I have run in a long time and I was not prepared. I was far from being hydrated enough and didn't have enough "gas" in the tank. I ate a bowl of cereal 2 hours prior to the race and don't think my body got anything out of that. My legs felt dead from my run on Thursday, so going forward, I will not run hard 2 days before a race. Light mileage before hand and LOTS of stretching.

I started off pretty hard and then tried to settle into my groove, but I just was not feeling it. I was not motivated enough and let my body dictate how I ran this race. I walked a total of 2-3 times in this race for about 15-20 seconds each time. I didn't want to walk, but I felt like it gave my legs a quick rest and allowed me to regain some strength so I could push myself harder in the end, which I did. I pushed myself so hard that I came 1 heave from throwing up at the finish line...I will give myself an A for effort at the end of the race. I was able to pass several runners and gain a few places at the finish line.

Another problem I had with this run was that they made it 2 divisions. 19 and under and 20+. You are lumped in with everyone and will not really know how you did with the runners in your age bracket. I finished 11th in the 20+ division and am not disappointed with this, but I know that I may have had a chance for a top 3 or 5 finish in my age division had it been done differently. I definitely ran better than I did in Tulsa 2 weeks ago and look to push myself in the coming weeks for some more improvement in my overall times.
I definitely need to step it up a notch or two to ensure that I can improve.