Zoo Run 10k

Going into this season I was hopeful I could pull off a 10k PR at the Zoo Run and a 15k PR at the Tulsa Run. Then I hit a rough patch a few weeks into my training block that not only set me back, but also shook my confidence. I went into the Zoo Run only having completed 4 mile and 5 mile tempos and the 5 mile tempo was on super fatigued legs and didn't give me a very good idea of where I'm at fitness-wise. My next tempo I had to cut short and I missed 3 speed workouts as I got my legs back under me. I was a little skeptical that I could pull off a decent race. When I looked back at my 2016 training block when I ran my 10k PR, I saw my times during speed workouts and tempos this season were very comparable to what I had run then. The main difference this time around was that I had fewer of them. I told myself there wasn't anything going into the Zoo Run that year that indicated I could run the time I was able to pull off, so maybe I'd be able to pull out some magic again. Afterall, I had finished the Corndog Classic 5k in 20:17 which predicts a low 42 minute 5k.

I watched the start of the 5k and took some pictures of dad go by, but missed mom. Then I took off for a 2 mile warm up and actually felt pretty good. I did a couple strides in 6:30 pace which I felt like was a good sign. We took off at the start of the race and I reminded myself to take off conservatively. I felt like I was running a pace that would allow me to negative split the race. I was pleased when my first mile split was 6:38. I told myself a PR was a definite possibility. I just wanted to make it to the 5k point because I knew by then I'd have a better idea what kind of race I'd be able to put together. Jeremy had a big lead on me and there were a couple guys between him and me. I told myself the guy closest to me was running sub-42 and I needed to maintain contact with him. I was surprised when I went through the 2nd mile in 6:46 as I felt like I was maintaining pace. I was a little worried at that point that I had slowed so much when I felt like I was maintaining pace. I told myself there was still a chance I could run a PR, I'd see where I was at the 5k point. I was a little bit in denial because I was already starting to feel a little rough.

Dad taking off in the 5k.

I finished up the first lap with a 6:54 mile and figured a PR was pretty much out the window. But I looked at my 5k split which I went through in 21:06. I figured if I could run a negative split I might still be able to sneak under 42. I didn't feel like I picked it up for mile 4 so I was pleasantly surprised to see I ran a 6:44 mile. I told myself to run the next mile in under 6:54 and I'd be on my way to running a negative split. But mile 5 was when I really started to struggle. I checked a couple times and saw I was starting to sneak over 7:00 pace. I passed a guy in front of me and there was no one close to me. We were passing other 10k runners still on their first loop. I was really losing steam. I was battling myself between the thoughts of "I can slow down and I'll still be under 43 minutes," and "I can still pull off a negative split if I keep pushing." Part of me wanted to give in and part of me wanted to go for the fastest time I could.

We came up on the mile 5 mark and I knew we would keep going straight as the people on their first loop would turn right. I saw Jeremy turn right with the 10k runners on their first loop and started yelling at him as loud as I could. I kept yelling until I got a side stitch. When I came up on that section I thought about trying to chase Jeremy down to tell him he missed the turn but I knew I wouldn't be able to catch up to him. Then I realized if I kept going straight, the road curves differently and I'd be able to get closer to him there. When I got to the turn the police officer directing runners yelled at me to turn right and I ignored him twice. Finally the 3rd time he yelled at me I told him I had already completed my 2nd loop. When I got closer to Jeremy on the road parallel to where he was I started yelling at him again and he still didn't hear me. I alerted the course official that the man in the tiger shirt had turned and should have gone straight. I was hopeful he would use a walkie talkie or a megaphone to get Jeremy's attention. Mile 5 was 7:10 and between worrying about Jeremy, my monster side stitch from yelling at him again, and that super slow mile I lost a lot of my fight. As I turned into the zoo, a guy pulled up beside me and I silently thanked him for pulling me back into the race. I decided to try to stick with him and hopefully drop my last mile a little. Focusing on staying with him helped me stop worrying about Jeremy since there was nothing I could do to help him.

At one point I saw a police officer on a motorcycle turn and go back out of the zoo. When I saw him my thought was immediately that something had happened to Jeremy and he was riding out to assist with him. I lost my fight a little bit at that point and decided I didn't care if I beat the guy I was racing with or not and let him pull away from me. But then as we neared the corner to the finish, I was to pull up enough fight to sprint against him (even though he still beat me) and ran the last portion of the race in 6:15 pace. So that was super fast compared to what I had been slogging through beforehand! I had thought I'd finish around 42:30 and was certain I would be under 43 minutes so I was quite surprised I'd barely snuck under 43 with a time of 42:56! I realized 42:30 was what I would have run with the 6:51 pace I averaged, but with the extra distance added from all the turns, I barely squeaked under 43.

Edged out at the finish.

I joked that I actually beat him because I ran through the finish and he didn't.

I told everyone what had happened with Jeremy and took off for my cool down. I figured if Jeremy ran an extra loop and ran a 15k he should finish around the time I returned from my cool down. When I got back from my cool down he still wasn't finished. I tried not to worry and told myself maybe Jeremy had decided to stop and walk it in when he realized how much extra he had run. Shortly after that Ty got a call that Jeremy had passed out and was in an ambulance at the entrance. I ran back out to the entrance much faster than I would have guessed I could. It sounded like Jeremy had a seizure when he hit his head from passing out. He had bruising and cuts and a busted up lip. It looked rough. I got into the ambulance with Jeremy after hearing what happened from the EMT and police officer on site. Jeremy had come around and knew what was happening by the time I got there. I told him I thought he should go to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. He agreed and dad and Ty showed up in a golf cart with a zoo employee a little bit later. Dad rode with Jeremy in the ambulance and I rode back to the zoo entrance with Ty. We drove mom to the hospital to be with dad and Jeremy and we all went home. They ended up not doing a CT scan and released Jeremy shortly after a visit with the doctor.

Jeremy's incident distracted me from how bad of a race I'd had and I no longer cared about it. I've been a bit disappointed with how this season has gone as far as my race times have gone, but I'm looking at this season as a base for my Boston Marathon training so it's hard to be too disappointed. I feel a bit discouraged going into the Tulsa Run when I had hoped to feel confident in a PR. Now I just hope to run a smart race and enjoy myself. We will see what happens! I got a little boost in confidence the following weekend when I was able to put together a solid 8 mile tempo with an average of 6:54 pace. So I'm not fully counting out the possibility of ending the season with a 15k PR!

I finished in 42:56. The results show that was 6:55 pace but my Garmin shows 6:51 pace, thanks to all the turns adding some distance. I was 8th out of 313 overall, 1st female, and 1st out of 32 in my age group. I looked at other people's results on Strava and felt a little better about how far off my time was from my PR when I saw comments about how they ran a minute and a half slower than they had hoped. It did end up being warm for the race, which didn't start until 9:00, and it was very humid! Thomas finished in 46:36 which put him 19th overall and 5th of 25 in his age group. Mom and dad ran the 5k. Dad finished in 25:07 which put him 46th out of 1,062 overall and 2nd of 19 in his age group. Mom finished in 35:46, good for 378th overall and 3rd of 26th in her age group.

Thomas finishing.