What To Race This Weekend?....

So I've been thinking about my performance at the 4 mile race on Saturday (see the previous post). I started pretty strong, with a 5:41 mile. I tried to keep it up in the middle, and I did (with mile 2 and 3 being 5:46 and 5:47). And then I blasted it home with a 5:27 mile for a good negative split (11:27 first half, 11:14 second half). Sometimes, I go out too easy so I have enough for the end, but this race was run perfectly.

Immediately, I was thinking, "I need to run a 5K soon!!" My 5K PR is 2 years old, and it's 17:27. I ran the first 3 miles of my race on Saturday in 17:14. If I just held that pace, I'd finish 3.1 miles around 17:45. And you could argue that being I was saving some for the last mile, I could race 3.1 miles in NEARLY the same time as my 3-mile split of my 4 mile race. Maybe. Even if you add 10 seconds, that's still a PR. I dunno...

This Sunday is a 5K race just down the street from our house. It's the "Human Race 5K" on Summit Ave. The starting line is literally 1 mile away. I could just jog to the start.

BUT this Saturday is the second of 3 free races for MDRA members: the MDRA 7 Miler. It's FREE.

Here's my "pros and cons" list as I'm trying to decide which one to race:

PROS for the 5K:
• There will be other "speedsters" there to push me.
• It's SOO close to home (I would just jog to the start).
• I could MAYBE get a PR.

CONS for the 5K:
• It costs $25. Yeah, that's not a LOT, but it's still money.
• Historically, I don't race well when all I'm doing is TRYING to PR.
• If I don't PR, I'll feel like I wasted $25 and the race.

PROS for the 7 Mile:
• It's free!
• I've never raced that distance, so it'd be a new PR regardless.
• I'm starting to know more people through the MDRA, so it's a chance to chat with some great runners.

CONS for the 7 Mile:
• It's a 20 minute drive.
• It's an odd distance, and a PR at that distance doesn't mean anything to me.
• It's a hilly course, and I don't care for hills. (Bad heels.)

Neutral points for each:
• They are both at 9 am.


So the list seems to be a dead-heat. BUT, the "pro" for the 5K about possibly setting a PR is a pretty big deal, so maybe that pushes me to favor the 5K, but I dunno....

Whatever I choose, if I'm wrong, I'll be grumpy.

Oh gentle and kind reader, what do you think I should do? Thanks for your thoughts in advance!!

So that means I'll do a long run today, something like a bike or swim tomorrow, intervals on the track on Thursday, and see what happens on the weekend. (Anyone up for the first outdoor interval session of 2010 at the St. Thomas track on Thursday? I'm thinking either later morning or around 6:30-6:40ish pm. Who's in?)

Oh, and check out my pseudo-sassy new article that welcomes back the fair weather runners. It's not meant to be mean-spirited; it's just meant to be fun. If you're from a colder climate, have you been seeing a resurgence in "fair weather runners" now that Spring is here? (Maybe YOU are a fair weather runner.) Check out my article for my thoughts.