5k for Kenya

"5K can mean 5 Kilometers. It can also mean 5,000. One of the goals of this race is to fundraise $5,000, which will build a classroom in Kenya."

Run: 7.7 miles in :57:54 min. @ 7:30 a.m. + 3.3 miles in :20:56 @ 9:00 a.m. for a combined total of 11 miles.
Scheduled Key Run Workout #2: 8 miles @ marathon pace
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 57°F, 87% Humidity, Wind: SW @ 8 mph; feels like 57°F.
Course: The Fairport Village 5k route beginning at Perinton Park in Fairport, NY.
Pace: 7:34 min./mi. (7.7 miles to race), 6:21 min./mi.(3.3 mi./"extended" 5k)

Pre-Run Ruminations: On something of lark, I decided very late in the week to register for the 5k for Kenya. Recently I have been absent from the local "running scene," due mostly to both my training for the Buffalo Marathon and an avoidance of the 5k distance. This morning, though, I'm planning on working towards two objectives in a single morning.

After reading about the charity for which this race is being sponsored, whose goal is building school sin Kenya, it seemed like a good opportunity to support a worthy cause. Secondly, I have fallen a bit behind in my mileage this week, and realized that by running to the event (7.7 miles) and participating in the run, I could catch up in time for my final true LSD run tomorrow (hopefully).

As is always the case of late, the challenge is in fitting this into a schedule this morning that includes my daughter taking the SATs, my son's opening day of little league and then the Track & Field Invitational my daughter's school will be holding on this afternoon. Whew! Compared to the challenge of creating educational opportunities for those significantly less fortunate, I'm very lucky to have these "challenges" to face...

Post-Race Reflections: Given the multi-faceted look of my training today, it was best not to look at this 5k as a race. With only three weeks left to the race, and a twenty-miler on tap for tomorrow, I took a conservative approach to the 5k and used it as an interval training run... and to my surprise I ran very well! As I came down the finish I felt confident that I had been going at a good clip. When I saw the clock at the finish I was surprised by how slow it appeared to indicate I had actually been going given how I felt. After the race, I was talking with some other folks who shared with me that course had in fact been 3.3 miles rather than 3.1, which explained the difference in time and how I sensed I had been running.

I was also very happy with my adjusted 5k time of approximately 19:30, especially given I had run 7.7 miles to the race, rested for 20 minutes, and then competed in the 5k. All-in-all, it was a good run, for a great cause... so a "success."

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!