The Cougar Prowl 5K: Seizing The Day!!

Fact: I don't race that many 5Ks. Between half marathons, 15Ks, trail runs, and social runs our running calendar stays pretty full. I would rather spend valuable racing dollars on a quality half marathon--complete with medal, tech shirt, and almost two hours of running. The thrifty side of me just thinks that a longer race sounds like a better deal economically. So I end up running only one or two 5Ks a year--one of them is on July 4th, no doubt a hot day and I've already told you what happens to my speed in the summer. I just know not to count on any blazing speed or personal records (PRs) once things heat up around here. So when I checked the weather and saw a forecast low of 50 degrees for this past Saturday morning, I knew that I had to seize the opportunity and see what kind of time I could throw down on a super flat 5K course. Even better--there was a race right here in my little suburb (I love the small hometown race) and it benefited the football program for one of my campuses--how could I let this pass me by! Oh and it was called The Cougar Prowl 5K....best race title ever?

I could not have asked for better race day weather--the forecast came true and it was 50 degrees, sunny, and a slight breeze. We arrived in plenty of time to pick up our race packets and warm up in the parking lot. The crowd was small but very happy and I watched the cross country team warming up minutes before we started. Man...these kids were FAST!! We lined up just behind those kids (not intimidating at all!) and after some directions we were off and running. I don't race enough 5Ks to really know how to pace myself--I just know that I'm supposed to feel like I am on the verge of instant death for the entire 3.1 miles. I took off fast and confirmed this within the first quarter mile when I glanced at my watch and saw a 6:25 pace. No doubt that I would die if I tried to keep that going, so I backed it down just a bit. The course took us on a loop around Five Star Park before putting us back onto some neighborhood streets. This is significant because I used to come to Five Star in back 2008 when I was a brand new runner. It is about a mile around the park and I remember how I would struggle to get around the park without stopping and trying to keep my pace somewhere under 11:00 minute miles for three loops. The first mile beeped on my watch at 7:33 and I took a second to think of how far I'd come in the last few years. I couldn't pat myself on the back for too long though, because I still had 2 miles to go and I was wondering how I could possibly maintain this pace until the end. Once we exited the park the mile 2 marker came pretty quickly (7:52 on my watch) and I got a bit of a mental boost. I knew in just over a mile, hopefully in approximately 8 short minutes, this craziness would be over and I could celebrate a new PR. Things really did get better and I seemed to settle in a bit during mile 3. Yes, it was still really hard and yes, I still felt like I was on the edge of certain death....but I was getting a little more used to the feeling. I COULD really do this!! I got another mental boost when I saw that the course cut through a drive beside the school instead of going back around the way we started. The last mental boost came when I passed a much younger boy just before the final corner. Mile 3 beeped at 7:45 and the finish line was within my sight! A lady who I suspected might be in my age group zoomed by me just before the end, but there was no way I could catch her...that feeling of near death had just been multiplied by 20! And with good reason, according to my watch I ran that last .1 at a 6:47 pace. I crossed the finish line with a huge smile and tried to catch my breath...my goal had been a new PR (old one was 25:01) and I DID IT 24:22 was my final time! It was a great moment to realize that the speedwork and hill runs that I had been doing since January were paying off.

I had been scoping out the competition and had not noticed anyone (except for the lady at the finish line) who looked like they might be in my age group. Erik and I were waiting as they put the results up and I was amazed to see my name in 1st place among women 30-39. Wow. (When I checked the results later I found that I was 9th out of 100 women and 49th out of 196 overall.) It was a perfect storm of opportunity: small race, perfect weather, and flat course....I came with a plan to seize the moment and my plan played out beautifully! It was a banner morning for Team K as Erik placed 3rd in his age group. We had fun talking with a few friends and watching the awards (that cross country kid who won the race...17:39....for real...FAST!). Erik and I were both happy to receive our Cougar Prowl medals (again, best race title EVER) and we wore them proudly as we made our way to the car.

I Couldn't Believe My Eyes!

The Dallas Running Club is one of the oldest and biggest running clubs in the nation. It was founded by Tal Morrison in 1967-patterned after the New York City Running Club-and had 20 members with dues set at $3.00 a person. Fast forward to 2012 and the DRC has over 4,300 members and while dues have gone up, it is still a good value for the money. A great perk of membership in the Dallas Running Club is that there is typically a free club race on the first Saturday of each month and Saturday, April 7 brought the Tal Morrison 5K/15K -- named in honor of the DRC Founder. I love DRC Club Races because 1. Hello--Free!! and 2. It is a laid back and friendly atmosphere--kinda like an extended running family.


Hanging out with Mark & son Cairo

I was excited about the chance to try another 15K, it is a favorite distance for me and I have raced two of them already this year. I know that my fast racing days are numbered around here with the summer heat looming, so I feel a little bit of pressure each spring to get "one more" good shot at various distances before the heat sets in. Fact is I have to slow down in the summer, I don't like it one bit--but that is just how it goes for me. I told Erik that I was just going to go run as hard as I could and would see what happened on the other side. The weather was not the best but certainly more bearable than some recent mornings had been.


Cairo delivers the knock-out punch!

We got there early enough to score a close parking spot and were able to hang out around the car until time for the race to start. It was a smallish race by DRC standards, I'm guessing about 500 runners were there for both of the races with most people running the 15K. After the Star Spangled Banner (I love that part of DRC races) we were off...and running! I felt great at the start, but knew that maintaining that pace would take alot of work. The aide stations were few and far between for this race (3 total) and I was so glad when I finally made it to the first one just before mile 4. The course was an out and back, which sometimes I think is harder than just looping the lake (one loop of White Rock is almost a perfect 15K) and the turn around did not give me the same mental boost that it usually does. I was closer to an "oh man, I have to run all that way back" whiny sort of mental state. I feel like I was the most tired in the 2nd 5K of this race although my splits do not reflect that at all. I wanted to just slow down and walk so badly, but I knew that my pace was on target for that PR goal, so I kept on pushing. My mantra being "do you want to be fast or do you want to be comfortable--because you can't be both at the same time."


Erik and I enjoy the view

I knew that the big hill by the spillway would be coming near the end of mile 7 and I tried to keep an even pace for the mile leading up to it. That hill never gets any easier and it always comes near the end of a race--but I got to the top and focused on running strong all the way until the end. I knew that the PR would be close, but I gave it everything I had once the finish line was in sight. Annnddd....at 1:20:00 I fell about 30 seconds short. Dang. I will be quite honest, I felt pretty disappointed at first because I knew just how close I had come and how hard it had felt. I tried to remind myself that my PR came on a perfectly cold January day in which I had an epic battle with Erik at the finish line. I couldn't mope around for too long, there were too many frunners to see, pictures to be taken, cheering to be done. Erik and I talked with his friend and his family for a while before we headed back up to the camphouse to check the results and look for more friends. When we went inside I checked the results on the wall....blinked twice....and looked again...somehow I had managed to win 1st place in my age group! I jumped up and down and rushed off to find Erik so that he could verify what I saw. I have placed in a few 5Ks before, but never anything longer and nothing above 2nd place. I simply could not believe my eyes, I really thought that there must have been a mistake with the timing--no way that just happened!! I claimed my medal with a huge smile on my face,and you know....I suddenly felt alot better about that missed PR.