Snaaaaake!

So I was out on a (sluggish, slow) 7 mile easy run, and I almost stepped on a 6 foot long snake - probably a big daddy copperhead.  Dang section line roads...  :) 

2009 Clean Air Challenge 5K

Well, I ran the Clean Air Challenge as an afterthought.  It's a sorta hilly course that is an out and back containing two "branches."  Prior to last week, the 08 CAC had been my 5K PR for almost a year.  So even though I was going to a bachelor party that night, I decided to run.

First of all, last year the CAC was well-run, well-organized.  It's a pretty large community 5K.  Well, this year, the volunteers seemed understaffed.  There were only two folks handing out packets to those who had preregistered.  Sorry - if I preregister, I don't expect to have to wait in line for twenty minutes to get my bib.  Also, there were NO SPLIT MARKINGS.  None!  In a 5K!  I know that it's a lot to expect to have manned signs with people calling out splits, but this is a 5K, it's not hard to put out four signs that indicate the number of KM travelled.  

Anyway, the first kilometer is downhill, and I figured I went out too fast (though at 5 minutes, after seeing no sign, I just figured I was laboring...  turns out there was just no sign).  When I got to what I estimated was halfway in 12 minutes, well, I started to put my nose down (and it started raining).  The finish is uphill, but I had prepared for this.  I couldn't kick as much as I wanted to because I started my run at too high a pace, or else my time might have been a lot lower than it was.  As it was, I ran another PR, a 24:46, though this time I probably ran positive splits - went out very fast the first mile and then held on by my fingernails.  But hey, a PR is a PR, so no complaints!  (Well, few complaints.  :) ) 

Bricktown Blaze 5K

Okay, for real, I'm going to do this.  No need to catch everything up... except to say.

A new PR!  24:51 in the Bricktown Blaze 5K, a cool little course featuring the OKC Redhawks bricktown stadium.  I ran with Larry Grable, one of my bosses, who, thankfully, runs about my target pace of 8:10 a mile.  The course was an out-and-back, basically, starting in Bricktown and heading north past the Presbyterian Health Foundation.  Larry and I didn't talk except to share splits.  

The first half of the out-and-back is uphill, so when I reached 3km at 15:05, I knew I'd be in okay shape.  I did kick the last 100m or so even though I felt like sub 25 would happen - the result was a nice 8 second improvement over my last PR from almost one year ago to the day!  My estimated splits are sorta like this:

1km 4:45

2km 5:05

3Km 5:15

4Km 5:03

5km 4:43

I'm looking for an 8K or a 10K to do in the next month to see if I can run that far on a knee which is suffering from some ITBS, but we'll see how it goes - only small 5Ks in OKC for the next few weeks.  Chicago Marathon training starts soon!