Well, the 5k Endurance is over, and all I can honestly say is 'ugh'. To rephrase that a little, it was not a good race and I felt slow, but I pushed hard enough to make it an honest effort. But in some ways it was OK, considering where I started. I ran a 16:15 time trial in early April, which felt really slow. Then after returning from my achilles tendon injury (healing time 4 weeks in all) I ran 15:53 in May at the Ottawa Race weekend.
Now here I stand, or limp, with a 15:30 on a very flat course in Dollard des Ormeaux. The race organizers said I wouldn't make it into the top ten, and I guess they right...this time. Still, it was a densely packed race where another 30 seconds would have put me in 3rd. In reality that dream of making the podium was over before it began, as I could not for the life of me find any 'sprint' energy. You really need a good kick for a 5k to make the first and last kilometer go fast without taxing the muscles designed for the middle 3k. I tried doing ten uphill sprints before the race start to get the legs going (difficult to find any hills in that area!), but it wasn't enough. Whatever the reasons, there is a good sign that I'm getting faster despite not actually training for speed.
More worrisome is a muscle in my right calf is still hurting from Sunday. Not sure what I did exactly, perhaps it was running some strides at the wrong moment on the heels of a two hour fast-easy run (6:30/mile, thereabouts). Funny enough my leg only hurt many hours after the run. Must not have stretched enough, or did the strides too fast. I probably should have avoided the hills the last few days, ...stupid.
Also I've just come off two heavy weeks of running, with about 95-ish miles logged in both. Not heavy by some people's standards (and more than others), but it should get the job done. The immediate goal is now to heal. When things are going well, it's about tactics; when things are not going your way, then it's about strategy. I think I stole that line from chess.
