Dogwood 5K Race Recap

*Note: I was waiting until pictures of the race were posted so I could steal one. But, just like the TriDeltathon, they managed not to take a single picture of me. C'est la vie. 


I made a promise to myself (and to Jennifer Torrance) Friday night: that I would rise with the sun to race the Dogwood 5K on Saturday morning. The forecast predicted rain, thunder, lightning, gale-force winds; basically, the end-times.

My promise came with a caveat to myself, though. If it was raining terribly hard, I was hitting Snooze. I went to bed early, though I had a terrible night of sleep. I took it as a bad omen that I woke at 2 a.m. to use the bathroom and felt my toe in undeniable pain. And I outfoxed my alarm by a good 15 minutes. But even with the early waking time, the rains appeared to have bypassed Knoxville. 

Somewhat grudgingly, I pulled warm-ups over my singlet and shorts. I planned to get there early to make sure I at least got a T-shirt for my troubles (they aren't guaranteed for "game-time decision" entrants). It's a pleasant sage-green, though -- a color conspicuously absent from my wardrobe until now.

I've been working out once a week lately with the group of fast guys from the Knoxville Track Club, so I had an idea of who I could try to keep up with. The runner in question was Greg Johnson, a master's runner whose speed seems to increase with his age. I last ran a 5K exactly one year ago at this race; Greg has done at least two in the last three weeks. Needless to say, he has a better awareness of his capabilities. So he was my rabbit. 

First mile, I came through in 5:30. I was about five steps behind Greg the whole time, and felt comfortable. Second mile, my split was 5:38. I slipped past Greg and one other kid who was visibly (and audibly) hitting the wall. It was a miracle, in my mind, that I didn't blow up and bog down. Maybe the training actually works!

Then, the guy who won the 5K at the Knoxville Marathon tried to pass me. I decided to stick with him; then I surged, and opened up a gap. That space grew until the end, where I stopped my watch at 17:19 -- a new personal best by 1:20. To top it off, I won a $20 gift certificate to the Runner's Market for the age-group victory. 

So what's the grand conclusion -- work hard? Sleep 8 hours a night? Eat your vegetables? Maybe. What I learned is this: Only run a race once a year, and a PR is almost guaranteed.