Running for the Arts 5K

Back to racing on the roads! Before the gun went off this morning, I promised myself that I would refrain from looking at my Garmin until after mile 2. After coming close to throwing up during Resurrection Run, I am more determined to actively listen to my body when it comes to pacing. There's a right time to push harder, and there's a right time to "keep a lid on it." It's just as Luke Skywalker demonstrated while barreling down the trench in his X-Wing in Star Wars: Getting a feel for what is correct is even more important than seeing what the instruments are telling you -- except I didn't drop torpedoes into the mall at the end.

Near the end of mile 1, a woman in front of me suddenly stopped and turned around. I let out a "Whoa!" and spun around her like a running back dodging a tackle. Memo to race participants: If you are going to do something other than going forward, LOOK FIRST! She probably doesn't check her blind spots when driving earlier.

Hearing the volunteer calling out the two-mile split ("19:33") made me feel really good because I knew that I was realistically headed for a sub-30-minute time if I kept my pace. On the return leg towards the mall, I focused on the "Sears" sign on the side of the building. I imagined myself as an unstoppable bowling ball that was going to crash right through that sign. I think it worked, because at no point did I feel like I was going to burn out early. In that third mile I managed to pass a few people and don't remember anyone passing me.

The result wasn't a PR -- which for a 5K is still 29 minutes flat from last November's Prostate Cancer Run -- but I'm still quite content with it, considering that the weather is warmer now. Elite masters runner Sean Wade happened to be doing this event as well. On his blog, he describes his 14:51 run as a "rust buster." Nice.

After the awards ceremony, I continued my search for the successor to my Saucony Grid Phoenix. (It was so unselfish of the mall to host this event, which just happen to conclude with a few hundred people at their entrance at 10 a.m.) A quick visit to Foot Locker only reinforced my impression that this store doesn't cater well to runners. I had a little more luck at Sun and Ski Sports. I did short test drives of the New Balance 767 and the Asics Gel 1120. I ended up taking the Asics home. My only concern now is that they might be lacking a little snugness in the heel, but otherwise they seem fine. I hope they end up proving themselves with some miles on the road.

Because the second mile featured eight 90-degree turns in a span of a just a few tree-lined blocks, I don't really trust the GPS-reported splits, but here they are anyway:
Mile 1: 9:23
Mile 2: 10:04
Mile 3: 9:14
Last .09 mile: 0:59 (10:42 pace)

Event: Running for the Arts 5K (28 April 2007)
Location: Memorial City Mall, Houston
Result: 29:41 (Garmin Forerunner 101)
Benefits: Spring Branch Education Foundation