Distance: 3.11 mi
Time: 0:29:09
Avg. Pace: 9′22″
Max. Pace: 9′11″
Avg. HR: 168
Max. HR: 184
This was my first-ever organized race, the Firecracker 5K in Brentwood. It was fun, and an invaluable experience for the future. My only real disappointment was that my timing chip apparently did not work as I was not listed on the official results. (The timing above is my self-timing of the race.)
1. Trying to be realistic in your expected performance, and therefore placing yourself near the rear of the starting queue, will penalize you because of the number of people up front who have no intention of doing anything but walking. Navigating through those people in the first mile will kill your time. Better to get as close to the front as you can, and move to the outside to clear the path of the faster runners after the start. (This was quite aggravating…)
2. It’s very difficult to drink from a cup while running. Pouring water over your head at pace is much easier. The apparent implication for the marathon is that I’ll have to walk through at least some of the fluid stations in order to take in enough fluids during the race.
3. If your timing chip doesn’t work (and mine didn’t), you won’t appear on the official results if that is the only timing mechanism in use at the race. I have my own timing of the 5K, but I would be extremely disappointed if this happened to me in a marathon.
Perhaps most important, I thoroughly enjoyed the race. It did make me think that I’ll probably want to have an iPod for the marathon. I was fine without music in this race, but I think 4+ hours without any distraction would get monotonous.