Caledonia Kilt Classic

The Goal

Since this is my first race since being cleared to run after my stress fracture a few weeks ago I chose a very pedestrian goal of 33 minutes for this 5k. Since this was my fist 5k ever I knew I was guaranteed to have a PR…for whatever it’s worth.

The Race

I had positioned myself about three fourths of the way back since I figured this is about where I would finish. I crossed the starting line and hit start on my Garmin (I had to bring my new toy!) as I began running. My plan for the race was to practice my run strategy for my upcoming triathlon so I ran for five minutes before taking a one-minute walk break. I didn’t see anybody near me doing anything like that but I ended up passing a lot of them toward the end. Maybe they should have followed my example?

I came upon the first mile marker and hit the stop button instead of the lap button. Oops! I quickly realized my mistake but my splits are just a little bit off because of that. Oh well. I felt good at the end of that first mile and was pleasantly surprised to hear the times the volunteer was calling off as I ran past him. I crossed my fingers and hoped I could hold that pace for the entire run.

The halfway point and mile two came and went before I knew it. My run walk strategy seemed to be working because I both felt strong and had no pain my leg. With a half mile to go I picked out somebody to pass and moved forward. Accomplishing that I selected my next victim and ended up reeling in a half dozen others before I got to that last tenth of a mile. I surged forward even though my lungs were burning. With about 30 yards to go I spotted my family and I tried to make it look like I knew what I was doing as I crossed the finish line and a volunteer handed me a lukewarm bottle of water.



Here’s the splits.

Mile 1 – 10:18

Mile 2 – 9:53

Mile 3 – 9:46

Last Gasp – 0:53

Total Time – 30:52

So, I guess I beat my goal, practiced my race strategy for my tri, and have a very beatable time for my next 5k. Oh yeah…I had fun too.