Race Report: CVS Downtown 5K / US Champs

Photo Courtesy of Scott Mason

This past weekend, I had the very fortunate opportunity to participate and compete in the CVS / Caremark Downtown 5K in Providence, Rhode Island, which also served as the USA Road Championships. Though my result may not have been spectacular, I was very happy to be a part of this great event and like most of my USA Running Circuit experiences had a lot of positives to take away from it beyond the happenings in the race alone. Before I elaborate on that, let's first talk about the non spectacular, but positive race performance that I displayed on Sunday.

US 5K Championships - 36th Overall, 30th American - 15:24 (4:49, 9:50, 14:50)

Again, it may not look like much, but it was actually a nice step forward from my last couple hard efforts (B2B 10k and New Haven 20k). I've been feeling pretty good in my training for a couple months now, meaning I'm running pain free and maintaining a comfortable 70 miles per week. However, the more specific work that prepares you for race efforts like this one haven't really begun yet. So while I may be feeling better on a day to day basis than I have in the past, my body hasn't prepared itself for the faster race efforts. Knowing that, I went into this race without expectation, but with lots of hope! Reasonable hope that I could simply race to my fitness and feel good doing it. Unlike the conditions in Cape Elizabeth and New Haven, the conditions in Providence this weekend were spot on perfect for racing. When I went out for a shakeout run race morning with my roommate Christian Hesch, the crisp clean air was very refreshing after some of the uncomfortable humidity that we've had recently. I knew that regardless of where my fitness was at on that day, I would at least have the opportunity to race according to that fitness.

In the final minutes leading up to the start of the race, I had that very nervous excitement pulsating through my mind and body. It's been close to a year since I've had that feeling, something I used to have on a regularly in past years. Most people talk about this as being one of the worst parts of racing, myself included. But on Sunday, I welcomed it like on old habit. As runners, we often embrace these torturous feelings and emotions, because we know it means there is potential for opportunity. Even though there is both the opportunity for success and for failure, good racers are successful as such because they welcome that risk believing they will utilize that opportunity and succeed more often than they fail.

The gun went off and I spent the next 500 or so meters sprinting behind the massive pack of leaders and trying to get clear of the lead women. My legs haven't moved that fast in quite a while and to exaggerate it further, there was a steep downhill in that first quarter mile. By 600 meters, I was clear of any traffic issues and focused on settling into "race pace", really just guessing at what that might be. I tried to stay as comfortable as I could through the mile. I knew that if I over extended my efforts there, I would never get it back. I went through the mile just under 4:50, breathing heavily but comfortably in control. Within the next quarter mile, I became much more relaxed and was reassured that I was at a very maintainable effort. I was already closing the gap on people that had gone out much too hard (as is easy to do in this race).

Through the 2nd mile, I continued to stay focused on this effort that felt fast but manageable, knowing that miscalculations could cost me the last mile, but also knowing that I could easily slide into a coasting effort and forget that I was racing a 5k. I hit the 2 mile in 9:50 and thought to myself that it was slower than I wanted but was already congratulating myself for feeling comfortable and relaxed.  After spending a minute or so focused on that thought, it suddenly popped into my head that I had less than a mile to go in this race. At that point, I tried to forget about pace and efforts and how I was feeling, and gave myself permission to just race! There weren't a lot of people right in front of me, but I quickly closed the gap on two guys that were fading back and continued to work up to my teammates that were up ahead. I made a small surge over the bridge and around the two corners to get in range of making a run at Ned and Kramer who were the only two I had a chance at catching. I powered past Ned with about 400m to go and attacked the last uphill trying my best to catch Kramer, but falling short in the final 100 meters. In no way did I feel like I had a kick and I probably expended that with the couple surges I made in the last mile, but it felt really great to be in a race situation over that last mile and working hard to beat people as opposed to just finishing a race.

I entered the finishing area feeling like I had run hard, which was gratifying, but caught my breath quickly and immediately started thinking about how I could have run faster. I have been very lucky to be involved enough in this sport that I am constantly surrounding myself with elite runners. But in that environment, it is very easy to be unexcited about sub par times. Especially when I've run almost a minute faster a dozen times. In reality, I probably couldn't have run much faster on that day and therefore, I won't say that I'm unhappy with my efforts. But then again, I won't say that I'm happy running 15:24. It's a nice first race of the year (not counting B2B and New Haven, where I was more participating rather than racing) and I know that with the introduction of some hard workouts, I'll see big improvements over the next couple months.

Photo Courtesy of John Nepolitan

Fortunately, I only had about 20 seconds to think about the idea of 15:24 before I turned around and saw my friend, Kim Conley charging into the finish behind the Womens race winner Julie Culley, which prevented me from feeling sorry for myself and getting excited for her. Through getting to know Kim, I was confident this would be a great race for her and a big addition to her rising career as a professional runner. In a half joking manner, we had built a friendly pre race rivalry, which was reinforced by her coach, Drew Wartenburg. I say half joking because I was legit nervous that she might beat me, and 25 seconds is not that much of a margin! Kim's had an excellent year thus far and she and Drew deserve all the attention they've gotten. I'm excited to see her success continue toward the Tufts 10k and Pan American Games in Guadalajara. Furthermore, check out a great interview with her here on Flotrack.

Photo Courtesy of Scott Mason

On the topic of fast women, I had a small redeeming moment of finishing ahead of Meghan Peyton, who had left me behind by more than 40 seconds at the 20k two weeks ago. Combining the two races, I think she still has a few seconds on me, so maybe she'll accept a tie breaker in the next couple months! I'm continuing with that half joking tone as I was very proud of these two athletes, but have made some light of my proximity to them at my own expense.  In all seriousness, while also in respect to them, I need to get away from racing women and get closer to racing my own gender.



While I was reasonably satisfied with the way I ran this race, there were much bigger positive to take away from this experience. First, New Balance Boston had a full scoring team of men and that team decisively took the Team Championship with 2 guys under 15:00 and 3 more guys under 15:30. It was great to see a pack of us running so close together throughout the race this early in the season and knowing that I have some great guys that I'm working out with every week. Our women also had a successful day, scoring two teams and placing 2nd and 3rd behind the New York Athletic Club.

Dan Hocking, Jeff Caron, Roland Lavallee, Andrea Sorgato, and Dan Kramer - Photo Courtesy of Steve Vaitones

More positives of the weekend came from the atmosphere and quality of people involved, along with the building of relationships like the ones I've already mentioned above. I've grown such an appreciation for these USA Running Circuit races for that very reason. It creates more than just an opportunity to race, it creates an opportunity to grow the elite community through a weekend experience and not just the 15 minutes during the race. It was such an honor to spend the weekend with others that share a passion for the sport and support it similarly to the way I do. Without these experiences, I may not have had the opportunity to get to know people like Kaitlin Gregg, Cassie Slade (with husband Russell), Daniel Roberts, Yong-Sung Leal, and several others that I met this weekend and now have a growing appreciation and respect for. No matter how many people you know in this sport, there are always more positive connections to be made. The elite community is a very tightly knit group, but it is also ever growing. And I continue to make every effort of growing with it.

With this particular experience, I have to give a huge thank you and appreciation to the work that was done by Charlie Breagy (Race President), Jim Harvey (Elite Athlete Coordinator), Tony Vinci (Elite Concierge), Bob Latham (USATF LDR Liaison), and Ian Brooks (Race Announcer and Acting Host). Those people give the athletes this great opportunity and put tireless efforts into making sure we are well taken care of. Furthermore, the athletes would not have their adequate recognition if it wasn't for Chris and Kevin from Runnerspace covering the event so well, despite difficulties that they continually deal with.

Going forward, I don't have a lot planned as far as racing, and will utilize this time to put in some quality work and continue to advance my fitness. I've been patient this summer with my comeback from injury and my build up in basic fitness. I can already see that patience paying off and I am growing stronger as a result. I do have tentative plans to attend the latest development in Elite XC racing, which is the O'er Hills and Far Away Race (OHFAR), being hosted by the NJNY Track Club on October 8th in Lebanon, NJ. With Julie Culley and other knowledgeable athletes behind the wheel, this event will surely be a huge success.

I have a lot of work to do on several levels in the next couple months and I will definitely be keeping track of my progress and updates right here along the way. Thank you again for supporting my efforts in this journey and as always, feel free to contact me so I can support you guys as well.