Second 5K race...

Today, Sat May 16th 2009, was my second 5K race, the annual Spring run for Fun in Eden Prairie, MN. It was a very windy and cold morning with temp close to 40F and winds gusting to 30+ mph. The combination of temp and wind made is especially hard to run on the open course of the Purgatory creek, near South-west station in Eden Prairie.

There were about 300+ runners for the combined 5K/10K race from all age groups. There were runners as young as 10years upto runners that were senior citizens. Many runners were overdressed for the cold. We all gathered in the pavilion opposite the South-west station where the Shirts/timing-chips were distributed. It wasn't a very organized event however, it was for a good cause --- a benefit for the Girls on the run, charity. After picking up the T-shirts, attaching the timing-chip/runner-number-badge and a few minutes of stretching, I was ready to go. Around 09:00am we were asked to gather near the start line and after making some announcements, the race started.

We started running and within a few minutes, the group spread out quickly --- the pro-runners near the front, runners like me (intermediate stage) in the middle and beginning runners and children near the back. The route was common for the first 1km or so for the 5K and the 10K and then it split. More runners were in the 10K camp than in the 5K camp. The wind was gusting and roaring and it lead to wind-chill. I was feeling more colder than what the thermometer was showing. A few minutes of running quickly warmed me up. Soon I branched onto the 5K track and I was running alone for several more minutes. Next couple of kms were on a track that is fairly well shaded from the wind ad so I didn't feel the chill as much. The last 1.5kms (~ 1mile) or so was an open route, right through the purgatory creek with no trees to block the wind. With a strong head-wind, I slowed down significantly on this stretch. In fact, at one time I walked for about 5secs or so when the wind was blowing right in my face and I again picked up speed as wind slowed down a little. There were volunteers on the last half-mile cheering the runners.

As the last quarter mile approached, I got a amall boost from the now tail-wind and picked up some speed. In the last 0.1 mile or so, the finish line and cheering people gave me a psychological boost and I picked up even more speed. Finally, I crossed the finish line when the clock was reading something around 27:10. However, because I was not at the front of the start line, I am assuming that it took me about 5 seconds to actually cross the start line. That would reduce my actual run time to about 27:05 which translates to a speed of 08:44mins/mile. While this is much better than my first 5K race (28:48mins and 09:20mins/mile), I could have been faster by 30-60secs without the 30+mph wind. That would have put me close to 08:30mins/mile. Hopefully, weather will be more co-operating for my next race.

Anyways, onto the next race now.