Luke - 7

Duck Dash 5k

Got up at 7am and had an english muffin and a banana, and got my outfit all ready. My short navy blue racing shorts, with my basketball shorts over them, with warmup pants over them, and a white undershirt with my red lightning bolt long-sleeved shirt over that, and mittens and a hat. I went to Amazon for a mile on the trail, then over to Hayward Field where I met up with Zack after about 3.25 miles of warmup. Went to the bathroom then did maybe a half mile more with Zack then changed into my racing flats and stripped down to just shorts and my (old high school) singlet. I headed onto Hayward Field feeling pretty good in the legs, but after one stride I realized my hands were freezing, so I went back to the car and grabbed my mittens. I got to the start line just in time to talk to Zack and this crazy 49-year-old named Randy Hilliard, who 3-5 years ago would always finish near me in 5ks (around mid- to low-18s)...he's more of a mid-19s guy now, and I am of course super fast. Also on the line were a bunch of guys from the UO Running Club, so I figured I probably wouldn't figure to be winning.

The first 600 meters of the race were 1½ laps of Hayward Field, and I settled in to the lead pack feeling pretty good, trying to hug the rail instead of going around people at the start--better to be slightly off pace and go a shorter distance than to waste energy trying to move around on the turns. They had a guy reading times at the 400m mark, which was nice. I came through in 82 or 83 (5:30 pace) and it felt super easy. I moved around a few people on the backstretch, and then we exited the stadium and started going uphill. In front were a guy in a red jersey and two guys in UO Running Club jerseys, and then me and 4-5 other guys in a chase pack, maybe 10 seconds back. I decided not to go all out on the uphill, since I know that's not where I'm at my best, and I could catch people on the downhill. At the top of the hill was the one-mile mark, which I passed in 5:28, in I think fifth or sixth (maybe seventh or eighth) place.

The next half-mile was downhill, and I was in fourth place by the time it flattened out. The two guys in the green UORC jerseys were about 80m in front of me, and the guy in red was another 50m in front of them. My plan was to run the race like it was only two miles and hold on until the finish, and I was feeling really fast after the downhill, so I pushed hard to catch the guys in green. They both must have been dying pretty hard, because I made up the 80m in no time. I went past the first like he was jogging, and waited behind the second for a few seconds before surging away from him too. Red was probably still 50m in front of me when I came through the second mile in 5:11.

The course then took a left onto a street for about a block, and then turned right for an out-and-back section. There was an orange cone with arrows going around the left side of it for the way out, and then the inside arrow was for coming back. There was absolutely no one around and I wasn't completely sure that I had to go around the cone the long way, but I figured I should just to be safe. As I turned the corner I looked back to make sure the two UORC guys went around it too, and they did, so I felt good about my decision. The guy in red, meanwhile, had put even more of a gap on me, so I just kept pushing to try and catch him. I figured he was out of reach, but I did want to hang onto second place, and the guys in green weren't that far behind me. The out-and-back section had us go around a cone, so pretty much a 180º on a dime, of course taking away all your momentum. From there it was about 1/3 of a mile uphill, 1/4 of a mile downhill, and 200m on the track to the finish. I saw Zack as he was heading down the hill, and gave him a very small, very energy-efficient wave. The last portion of uphill was the first time in the race I didn't feel super strong, but I knew if I made it up without dying I'd be home free with second since I will never lose ground on a downhill. When I turned the corner onto the downhill I could see that red had put even more ground on me, but I pushed hard to Hayward, and came through the third mile in 5:23. I passed the third mile marker just as first place was finishing, and I was able to sprint pretty well to the finish, making sure I was on my toes with quick turnover, and came through in 16:33, a PR by 9 seconds.

I congratulated the first and third place runners and then headed up the infield until I saw Zack, and I cheered him on as he kicked away from another runner. A bit later we grabbed some water and bananas and granola bars and went to the car, where I put all my layers back on. We came back for the awards ceremony, and I got a second-place ribbon for overall and a second-place ribbon for my age group, but Zack got a first-place ribbon for his age group, since everyone in front of him was either 15-19 or 25-29. I also won a UO football shirt in a random drawing (which I traded to Zack for a T-shirt from his old work, since it was slightly too big for me). Oh and the best part of the day was when Randy Hilliard, who won the Masters (40+) division at last year's Duck Dash, asked Zack if he was over forty years old.

I was definitely happy with my performance; someone was saying it "wasn't a PR course" because of the hills and the copious amounts of turns. Considering that, and the fact that I've done almost no speedwork lately, I'm very optimistic for future races. Zack has a couple friends coming into Eugene for Thanksgiving, and one of them is very near my ability level as a runner, so I'm really looking forward to racing him in the Turkey Stuffer. I might have a shot at going under 16 in either that race or the one in L.A. that Steve and I are doing. It would be crazy to have a 5k PR that started with the word "fifteen".