Woodstock Freedom Run 5k Recap
Woodstock Freedom Run Shirt
I decided at the last minute to go ahead and run the Woodstock Freedom Run 5k on Saturday. I had originally planned to take the day off to rest up for my first Peachtree, but the lure of a close race and a relatively flat course sucked me in. So, there I was again, 7:30 AM, toeing the line for another race.
The weather was cooler than it had been and the humidity was much lower as well. My body wasn’t feeling too great though. I’ve got a few nagging pains going on that I’m trying to work through, so I used most of the pre-race time jogging around to get loose.
The Woodstock Freedom Run is set in Downtown Woodstock. It’s an out-and-back style course. It draws a pretty big crowd because a) it offers cash prizes to the top 3 men, women, masters men, and masters women b) it’s on a holiday weekend and c) it’s really flat. So, there were quite a few folks lined up ready to roll. I knew that in order to place in my age group and win one of the coveted coffee mugs, I’d have to run like never before.
I lined up about 4 rows deep, just behind the elite runners. At the gun (really just the Mayor saying “Go”), we all took off at a crazy breakneck pace. I tried to hang with some of the elites, but eventually I settled into a pace I could handle. My first mile came in at 6:33. I was really moving. I was just hoping I could hang on, but I felt pretty good. Somewhere in that first mile, I got passed by a group of women who were just flying. I tried not to let it bother me, but, jeez, how fast were they going? 6:00? 5:45? Yikes.
The second mile came and went without incident. I was still moving along, but definitely feeling the pace. I was able to put down a 6:40. I did get passed by some dude wearing knee-length plaid shorts and Vibram Five-Finger shoes. I think he ended up finishing at 19-something. Amazing. When he passed me, I actually looked over in shock because I initially thought I was being passed by some ponytail-dude in flip-flops. I also saw the leader come by me in the opposite direction on the way to the finish. My God. This guy was FLYING. He finished at 15:13 – almost a minute ahead of 2nd place. Crazy. He was the defending champ. I guess it’s an easy $300 for him.
The third mile was tough. I was struggling to maintain my pace. The crowd had spaced out and I had less people to pace myself by. It was just me and my thoughts of dying. I knew I was on pace for a record time, so I pushed through to my happy place and trudged on. My split was 7:00. As I approached and passed the 3-mile mark, I knew a PR was in sight. I used up whatever I had left in the tank and finished strong. 21:25 official time, new PR, and my first sub-7 minute mile 5k!
I figured I was still probably not good enough for the coffee mug, but I stuck around for the awards ceremony just in case. In the end, I didn’t come home with the prize, but I still left feeling really great about my performance. I can’t help but think that the speedwork I’ve been doing with Jason has maybe started to pay some dividends. Time will tell if Saturday was just a combination of good weather and a flat course or if my training is making a difference. Either way, I’m going to continue to hit the track once a week to try to get faster.
- Official results (I finished 5th in my age group and 53rd overall)
- The shirt’s not my favorite. White cotton that looks like something you’d get at a used car super blowout sales weekend.
- Timing antenna inside the race bib. Yay for electronic timing! Booo for having an antenna in the race bib that makes the bib about the size of a poster board!
- Garmin Stats — is anyone else fascinated with looking at their Garmin stats? I really can’t imagine running without this anymore.
- Anyone reading this that lives in or near Woodstock will be happy to know that the downtown J. Christopher’s is FINALLY open. Sweet!
My first Peachtree Road Race was on Sunday. I had a great time! I’ll try to get a recap of that one up here in the next day or two. Stay tuned…
