CrossFit Athletic Group

by, Mr. Ron

...........

Time to enter my head with this challenge. Chris asked me to sign up for the Free Press half. I told him that if you want me to do something I don't want to do, it's to sign up for a 5K (then my foot started to wag, which was actually funny). Malak and I have talked about this before and I've punked out on giving it a try. If I talk to anyone who doesn't run, I always tell them to run a 5K. Great distance for any new runner. Why am I scared to do it? It's because there's multiple ways to run a 5K. The way I want to run it is very uncomfortable and in no way a fun experience. I found one that meant nothing to everybody, except for me. Why? It's something that I shouldn't do and that's to compare myself to me in my early 30's (now that I'm 47). 2 1/4 years ago when I joined, I could barely run a 200, which messed with my head.

Nobody believes me, but I don't like running. I love the way I feel afterwards, I love racing anyone who is close to me, I use it as strong gage of my fitness, I love the challenge, I think it's a great exercise, but the act of running just hurts. I just want it to be over. Most runners run many more miles than me. I'm around 15 or less miles a week so any opportunity to run at the gym, I try to go for it. Here's my experience and result from my first race in 12 years.

For the crew that ran the Free Press, they can relate to this process. I have to say, the best part of running is the process. I recommend embracing it and to overthink the shit out of it. I feel you get your money's worth.

Training: Upped one of the 3 mile runs to an 8 miler for a few months, but really nothing different than normal, other than pushing the pace.

Fuel: None needed for 5K.

Week before: Chelsea was Tues, 5 days before. Up to me, no way I do it. Talked to Chris, he had me do +2, which is 7, 12, 17. I literally drive 1 hr and 40 mins because I love working out with everyone and because Chris is one of the best coaches I've met. I'm all in on trusting him. He tells me to do +2, trust it and do +2. Every day that week I just listened to Chris. Here's the best part, if we get it wrong, who really cares. Nothing's on the line. He's been right with a lot of things so far so the trust is there.

Night or 2 before: Study the course and have a plan. I'm not bringing a watch. I'm going to go by effort/feel and hope for the time that I want. Here's the plan: Mile 1, get there a little too quick. Fast time, kind of tired but not as bad as I thought. Mile 1 1/2 reenforce my lean by focusing on my hips (plan to always do it, but remember here if not). Stick to that and embrace the pain that's setting in. Mile 2 is going to have an increase in effort while I'll have to ignore my legs. Mile 2 1/2,  increase more effort until done and keep ignoring mind and legs.

Night before: Nervous as can be. Absolutely no reason to be, but can't help it. Will I run too fast and have to pull back? Will I go out too slow and never hit my splits? Will the mind tell me to F off when I hit mile 2 and maintain instead of push? I know how little this race means. I know nobody will care if I blow it. Can't explain why, you still get butterflies. Sorry, one more worry, will you shit your pants because running is stupid that way? All of these things go through your mind at 1:00 am when you're tossing and turning.

Race day: Eat normal, visit bathroom 5 times to eliminate last concern, do 4 rounds of a mini burpee race, and off to the race to see Sap there (which was awesome!). How did the race go? Exactly the way I wanted it to go. Everything I went over and over just happened. Got to mile 1 very quickly and felt decent, passed the 2nd place kid at mile 1 1/4 (first place guy ran a low 16 so he wasn't an option), mile 2 seen Sap and pushed a little. Mile 2 1/2 seen Sap again and just ran what I could while not feeling my legs. Finished and keeled over. Exactly the way I wanted.

Results: My fear was to see the clock and see a time that was around a 30 sec to a minute slower than I know I can do, which is where I was at in some of my good runs at the gym. A few seconds before the finish I saw the clock and it read 18:20 and crossed it a few seconds later (18:24). My goal was under 18:30. 18:00 was a big stretch goal, but really 18:30 is what I was really, really hoping to get. That puts me in the ballpark of where I didn't think I'd ever get to again, especially running 10-15 miles a week. 5:45 - 6:00 min/mile is the range I wanted to be at for 3 miles and now I know I'm there. It's like an insignificant weight has been lifted.

Kind of conclusion (good run points/tips if you are interested):

- Embrace that your 5K race will hurt. Know it, practice it, and it should hurt. I've seen everyone at the gym run 3 miles. You already can do it. The point of the race is to push it, so let it be uncomfortable.

- Something I learned. Running an even split doesn't mean even effort. Your effort will need to increase as you hit your markers. Chris has helped me key on things that help me maintain that pace. There are points in the race where you try to run faster but I think what happens is you maintain that already uncomfortable pace by increasing the effort.

- Visualizing, how lame it sounds, is pretty damn powerful. I ran the race exactly how I thought I would. Just thought to share this.

- I highly recommend signing up for something like this and not just to do it. Do it with a goal that's a little out of reach. You're already training for it at CrossFit. Count how many times you're uncomfortable in a week.

- Finally, sorry for kissing up to teacher but let's give credit to where it's due. Listen to Chris. He'll have you do things that you might not be used to, but he's doing it in your best interest. He's really good at this stuff. Proof is in results. Again, if I didn't think so, would I drive 1 hour and 40 mins every single day in rush hour? Thanks, Chris, for getting me back to a place I thought I would never get to.

If you made it this far, thanks for listening to the play-by-play. The Free Press run and this run was a fun experience for me, even though I didn't run in the Free Press. Just fun to talk about different strategies and approaches, which is the fun part of running. If you ever need to overthink a 5K, please let me know :)