Aruna 5K Race Summary

This past weekend I ran my second 5K in two weeks. It was the Aruna Run at the Illinois arboretum. Great cross country course with a couple of hills and nicely marked route. The University of Illinois teams uses it for practice and races. My previous 5K was a road course, this was grass with hills. I knew it would be a slower time, but I felt prepared. Until I woke up on Saturday morning! It rained all night and continued all day. Before the race, rain. During the race, rain. After the race, rain. And wind too. It was a soggy course. Since it was all grass trails, it was not too muddy, just wet and soft. Same conditions for everyone: 46F, wind, rain. Just run.

Did a nice 1.6 mile warm-up in the rain (one loop of the course). Then took a running gel and changed my shoe/socks for the race while I warmed up in my car. Decided to race in my Hoka Torrent trail shoes. Not super lightweight, but a good mix of traction, protection, and weight.

This time I made sure my Garmin 235 watch was recording correctly. And I had my chest HR strap for accurate heart rate readings. Plus Stryd foot pod foot for power. I had all the tools to run under control. And I did! Never was competently out of breath. Ran slightly faster than threshold/tempo pace. Just about right for a 5k race. With the crappy conditions, this was not about pace, but consistent heart rate and power. My pace did slow for each mile split (6:52-7:09-7:21), but I managed to sprint the last 1/10th mile to the finish line. Probably need to be more disciplined in the future and start slightly slower. Or be in better race shape so I can maintain my speed from start to finish.

Ended up averaging a heart rate of 166 for the full race (my threshold HR is around 162). My finish time was 22:05 (7:05 mile pace). Placed 9th overall and 1st in age group (although my bib was the wrong one--they gave me a 19 year old's bib # instead of mine so I was not recognized as winner of age group).

Overall race stats:
Time: 22:05
Pace: 7:05/mile
Placing: 9th overall, 1st age group
HR avg: 166
HR max: 173
Power avg: 309W

I'm pleased with the effort. Just starting to gauge what 5K race pace feels like. For this old ultra guy, these short and fast races are TOO FAST! I'll be back next year. Good cause, great course.