Full Moon Run 5K 2010 Report

Thursday, July 29, 2010
Madison, WI

Last night I ran the Full Moon 5K here in Madison, WI.

I hadn't run a 5K in over a year, so I figured it was time to reassess my speed. I don't like 5Ks that much, but this one sounded like fun, since it was run in the dark during the full moon. Previous 5K PR was 29:17. I wasn't positive if I could beat that, but I was sure going to try.

Race started at 9:00 pm. I met up with the Runner's World gang -- SSmith1187 (Steve), Saint Tigg, and Mrs. Saint Tigg -- around 8:00. We picked up our bags, timing chips, etc. The t-shirt was a nice tech shirt, but it was dayglow yellow. Probably to go along with the running at night theme. Oh well. Tigg was nice enough to give me the coffee cup from his bag because I didn't get one. It'll get put to good use!

We walked to the start and warmed up a bit. I was sweating from my jogging around and the air wasn't as cool as we'd hoped it would be. I suppose cool weather at the end of July is too much to ask for.

We lined up and I told Mrs. Tigg to stay with me for the first mile or two, since this was her first 5K (but not first race) and she was unsure about her pace.

3, 2, 1 and we're off. Mile 1 goes by and I'm feeling pretty good. Holding a steady pace and Mrs. Tigg is near me. My Garmin lines up with their mile markers almost perfectly. A guy is calling out times. So far so good. Somewhere in mile 2 I lose Mrs. Tigg behind me. I end up in step with a couple who is pulling me along. We're running around Monona Bay and it's pancake flat. As we make our way around the bay and toward a busy intersection, I see a whole pack of runners jogging in place and waiting for a stoplight. Are you freaking kidding me? Seriously?!  I put on the breaks and wait with the group at the stoplight for probably 15 seconds. Finally we're able to go.

We cross over the busy intersection and are now on a bike path till the finish. I'm running behind a really big guy and he's a loud runner - noisy breathing, heavy feet, etc. I can't handle it and I drop him. Mile 3 starts. Isn't it amazing the things you think about in the last mile of a 5K? My mind was all over the place, but the general thought was, "JUST HOLD THIS DAMN PACE." We're getting closer and I know my suffering is going to be over soon. As I'm getting closer, I start looking for Tigg and Steve, who were going to come find me and Mrs. Tigg and run us back in. I finally see them and yell out. Steve came to my rescue and ran with me while Tigg went to go find Mrs. Tigg. I'm really hurting at this point, but it helps to have Steve there. This race is completely flat, minus the uphill finish. We start to climb at about 2.8 miles. Ugh. That was rough. Make it up the hill and I know it's just .1 to go. Muster up a kick and try to catch up to a girl, but she hears me coming and I can't quite overtake her. Finish and try not keel over.

Garmin time 28:26. Gun time 28:41. That's about a 45 second PR.

Splits:

9:20
9:21
9:01
6:51

I'm pretty happy with it considering my running has felt sub-par lately. Hopefully this will give me some confidence going into my fall races. After the race, we all went to get a beer. It was a fun night and I'm so glad to have met so many awesome people from the forums. There may have been an issue with some homemade cookies forgotten at my house, so I'm hoping Tigg and Steve forgive me eventually.