Running 14 miles all out is always a good idea the day before a 5K, right? :) Well, truth is I decided to run the 5K just a couple of days before, I didn't care about it & the hard 14 miler is way more important to me than a 5K.
In August of last year, I ran 17:52 on a flat course in the only 5K I'd run in years. I'm not in the shape I was then, but was shooting for under 19:00 at the Blue 5K which started at Panthers Stadium in conjunction with Fan Fest. I really had no clue what to expect. Woke up and could barely move. Legs felt like they were going to explode. Went anyway. Sore warming up. Someone I knew said "Course is tough. Easy first mile & then hard 2nd mile." First mile started with decent hill but then went downhill to the mile marker. 6:05. OK. The turned & went uphill. Went up the infamous Morehead Hill that I ran up several times 25-30 years ago in the Charlotte Observer 10K, which was a big deal then. Grete Waitz & other big names ran it & the Marathon. Anyhow, my biggest weakness now is hills. Camp pointed that out. This course was full of them and I was tired. Finish time of 20:20. Ouch. A little embarrassing but I know I can run a lot faster if I planned better. Guess I'll have to seek out a flat 5K somewhere & take an easy day before it to prove it.
It's OK. Got a nice Panthers shirt out of it. The improvement in training exponentially outweighs the slow 5K time. Not really a disappointment.
