Carver 5-Miler Race Report

Me, Corven and Eli enjoyed some food at Jose's the night before the Carver 5-miler, but we didn't overdo it, and were able to wake up with plenty of time for the drive down. Corven was feeling sick, but there is nothing like the atmosphere before a Grand Prix race to get you feeling pumped up and ready to roll. The forecast was for cooler weather, but it was hot as the dickens in the sun...

I didn't have a great warm up, but was able to hit the john, which is half the battle.

Splits:
Mile 1 - 5:58.82
Mile 2 - 6:08.56
Mile 3 - 6:17.03
Mile 4 - 6:20.25
Mile 5 - 5:56.81
Garmin .05- 12.00
Total: 30:57

It's tough to gauge the middle miles of this race. I felt very comfortable with the first mile, and I don't think it was too fast. But...I obviously slowed considerably for miles 3 & 4. I don't think I really lost focus, as has been the case for past races - I was still passing a lot of people - and my effort wasn't poor. I heard quite a bit from other runners that the sun really sapped their energy, so I think that was likely the case here. For the final mile+ the course gets back in the shade, and that final mile was very strong. I ended up passing a lot of runners who I thought were way too far ahead, but as others continued to wilt, I was feeling really strong.

With about ~35 meters to go, there was one final runner who was ~10m ahead of me that I tried to catch. He looked over his shoulder, and started to cruise in - and just as he turned back towards the line I was up on my toes for the final sprint. He turned again, just a second later and noticed me closing and did the same thing. I crossed the line just as I was getting on his heels, but it made for an exciting finish.

I especially like the photo to the right - some good expressions can be seen on the onlookers.

Overall this was a very good race for me. The weather was deceptively warm, but I was able to run well and PR by ~41 seconds, and finish up the day hanging by the pool in Plympton.