Over the weekend I ran a low key 5k. The premise of the run was to collect 3 poker cards during the run, and after the race their would be a Texas Hold'em game with a flop, turn, and river card. The runners with the best poker had would have their pick of the prizes. The race was intended to raise money for scholarships for local high school runners.
When I arrived at the race location I noticed that their weren't a lot of participants ready to race. January is a popular month for road races in the Las Vegas Valley, and there were several different events that same morning. Because of this the track club workout had a small turnout. I wasn't feeling very motivated to do a proper warm up. In fact I didn't even really warm up. I figured I would try to negative split the 5k. I also had lofty goals of running a sub 21:00 5k.
I lined up front and when the horn went off, we took off and I found my groove. Two high school boys went flying by me. I knew I wouldn't be able to hang with them. I was running with two other male runners and after about 800 meters I looked down at my watch and noticed 7:05 pace. (My goal was 6:45's per mile). I knew that I needed to pick up the pace, I dropped it into another gear and I went around the two guys I was running with. I also picked up my first poker card.
Mile 1 7:03 (Meh)
One of the guys that I passed just hung on to me. I was running hard, but I couldn't shake him. We hit the turn around point and I knew he was still on my heels.
Mile 2 7:06 (D'oh)
Once we passed the 2nd mile marker I decided to put some distance between me and the guy on my heels. I really tried to open up. I grabbed the 2nd poker card halfway through this mile
Mile 3 6:36 (Right on!)
During the final 400 meters I got my ass out kicked.
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| I'm the pink dot in the rear. |
Final Time 21:32 (6:53 average)
I'm not disappointed with my time. I know that I could have ran this a bit faster, if I had done a proper warm-up. It was a small race and I felt like I was in "no man's land" for most of the race. I do better at bigger events because there is motivation to catch runners ahead of you.
After all the runners finished the poker hand was dealt. I didn't have a very good hand, so I went home empty handed. Overall I'm happy that I got a good workout in.
**Thank you to the Las Vegas Track Club for hosting the event and for the photos!!**
For the past few months I have been working out in the mornings before work and on my lunch breaks I would drive over to my daughter's daycare to nurse and or play with her. At this stage of her development she is moving from two naps a day down to one long mid day nap. This is great because her development is progressing right along where it should be, however I am a bit sad because I look forward to seeing my little one and getting some extra cuddle time in with her.
At first I was actually considering trying to work out twice a day because I love to run in the morning.. But, that just sounded like a dumb idea. My workouts before work always felt rushed and hurried. I would usually try to bang out a 3-5 mile tempo run or do some frenzied circuit training. Instead I'm going to focus on lunch time workouts.
I plan on running three days a week, doing circuit training one day, and one day of complete rest. My weekends will still consist of one long run and one rest day. I will definitely be upping my mileage and slowing down my pace on some of my runs. I will be probably switching it up again when the Las Vegas summer heat arrives.
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