Super Bowl Sunday and the Super 5K Race, Novi, MI, ready, set, run ! Go Lions !
Game Day ! or rather, race day is here again and what better way to start the 2024 race year than running the Super (Bowl) 5K ! This race was first run on Sunday morning of Super Bowl XL, the year the city of Detroit hosted the Super Bowl at Ford Field. The race was held in my hometown of Novi, Michigan and organized by the Novi Running Fit store. The route has varied over the years since, most recently it has found its home at the Novi High School and the route runs through the subdivision behind my house, so obviously, I find it tough to not to run this fun event. History and the fact that my Detroit Lions nearly finally made it to the Super Bowl themselves this season left me with no choice but to once again run this race.
So come race morning I wake early and find that the last thing I really wanted to do was run a race, let alone a faster pace 5K race. It’s not unusual for me to have “race entry remorse” on race day anymore. There are several reasons. First, I have done so many races over the past several decades that they simply do not seem that special to me on race morning. That is until I get dressed in my gear and actually head out the door. Then there is the fact that in my senior years as a runner, I simply do not train specifically to peak for a given race.
So what keeps me doing these races? It’s the finish line, it’s the people, it’s the competition, it’s the swag, and of course it’s the opportunity to write yet another race report. Another thing that happens following every race is I begin to look towards the next race! Even if my next race is months away, I am probably seeking out a so called ‘tune-up” race.
So, this year’s Super 5K was all about regaining my lost enthusiasm for racing. For the past several months I had focused on building a consistent base of mileage. Traditionally between November and March my total milage has been significantly less than the summer and fall months. To do this also means I needed to slow my average pace. For you running techies out there, this means most of my running this winter has been in Zones 2 and 3. In other words for you non-techies, I run longer but maintain a slower heart rate. The science behind this is to eventually allow me to actually run faster come spring and summer but I am getting off topic. My point is that I was not prepared to run at a faster race pace for this 5K in mid-February.
Before the race I did follow the running rules of “good practice” and I was able to get a decent warm-up jog and plenty of dynamic stretching so when the gun finally went off I was at least able to run competitively. Speaking of being competitive, a funny thing happened on the way to the start line, One of the best runners in my (70-74) Age Group in Michigan typically runs this race every year. So I checked the posted entry list and I thought I John’s name not listed! Great! I may have a chance to actually win my Age Group today! Later, I was standing behind the starting line and who walks up to me but my friend John! We exchanged greetings and I instructed him to line up way in the back and stay there. But he ignored me. He continued to the front of the pack and he actually ran a very good race.
I ended up finishing second to John in our Age Group but I was happy to see that at least there were other very fine runners competing in our division that I beat. My final time of 25:45 (8:18/ mile pace) was actually one of my better 5K times over the past few years so given my lack of speed work I was actually quite happy with the way I ran the Super 5K! I also finished 127 of 765 runners and 97 of 346 male runners, most of who were much younger than me.
Average race pace of 8:18 is far better than my typical recent training pace between 9:45 to 10:30.
So now onto my next race, the Martian 10K in Dearborn, MI. Another race I use to regularly run but have somehow managed to miss it in recent years. I am looking forward to my return to planet Mars!
Thanks for your interest and time in reading my post. Please check back for the next post.
Coach Lee