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UMass Dash and Dine 5k

April 11, 2015 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
Race Day! Actually a lot of races were going on today. UMass had their home meet as well, and there was a softball game, so it was very busy down on Southwest. I had a sore throat when I woke up this morning, wasnt feeling great. Still got ready and headed out so that I would have enough time to prep for the race. Got there about 1.5 hrs before hand, so I had time for a nice warm up. It was spring feeling and sunny, but very very windy coming out of the east. That actually made it chilly, and I was slightly under dressed. Ran my warm up on a Stadium Loop, finishing back at the parking lot and had time for drills. Its been soooo long since I did drills, they really were fun and got my legs feeling good. After the past few days legs have been feeling really weak, but I got into that workout/race mindset just by doing drills. Changed shoes and then headed up to the start line, which was right along the basketball courts.

There were a shit ton of people (788 actually) and they all crowded the start. I kinda got lumped into the middle, wondering if thats what pack I should have been in. No worries. It was still cold at the start and I bounced around trying to stay fresh. As the race went off, It opened up pretty quickly. There was a clear lead pack that went out fast but I was around top 50 as we got onto the path. I realized that they were running pretty slow, but I did not want to go out too fast at all like I did in the Homecoming 5k. Stuck with those groups, and ran up to Pat as we went up past Hagis Mall. He was shooting for sub 20 which sounded good for me. We passed a kid as we started on the campus loop, and I thought he would go with me but stayed behind. At that point I just started to pick up the pace and pick off people. Kept moving up all the way around campus, past Conte and back down the hill. Those packs all were slowing down and I was keeping the same pace but with short bursts to pass. The course wound back up onto campus past the parking garage. Really hammered that hill passing 5 or so people cresting the hill, the cruising through campus back to Southwest. I put a little distance on them and was alone at that point. Thats when I really started to hurt. I could tell the pace slowed a little and I wasnt as strong. I kept pushing since I knew I was almost done though. Coming down the hill through the tunnel, those kids passed me again. I had no idea where the finish line was, but when I saw the 3 mile marker, I started my kick and repassed them and flew down the walkway to the finish. That part was tough as the wind picked up and funneled between the dorms and was coming head on, but I really pushed because I wanted to break 19. Came in at 18:37 (18:34 on my watch) and 15th overall. Real solid run and I was happy with the race plan. Big improvement from the race last semester on pretty bad training actually. Finished 10th in my age group too.

PSE people all congregated at the finish as everyone started rolling in. Wind was whippin and I was getting pretty cold. Eventually, after some unhelpful waiting around, I headed out for a little cooldown and to get my warmups. Legs felt pretty smooth still actually. I think I pushed myself, but I think I lost my core and endurance first rather than my leg strength.


Essentials: Stretch (mild)

After cooling down, the dining hall was open to all racers, so I went and ate a bunch and didnt really stretch. Legs kinda sore afterwards, and they should be since that was fastest I have run in a while. Hopefully they arent tight though. I walked around a little more, wandered over to the track to watch some of the meet. I watched it last year, but we had the Cume that day (and it was today again). Small meet but classic atmosphere. I was getting cold from the wind, and just tired in general so headed back home. Overall awesome race with my training, little bit above my expectation. There is another one in Amherst in 2 weeks that a bunch of people plan to do, another shot at lowering the time. Ill get some good inspiration from Boston before that too. Also important today is we raised a lot of money and awareness about people going hungry.