A Fast and Painful 5k
Two days after the sprint was our 5km classic race. Again it was cold out and this time we needed to put tape on our cheeks to keep them from freezing while racing. It looks silly, but not as silly as frostbite on your face.
This race was short and...un-sweet. Quite painful in fact. We kept being told to not start too hard and to take the altitude into consideration. Usually starting too hard isn't something I do, so I knew I didn't have to worry about that. Instead, my focus was making sure I would be able to snap out of the 90%-effort start and be able to go at 100% for last 4km. I think I did this well. A lot of the course was climbing so it was important for me to get into a good rhythm and kind of zone out while keeping the rhythm going in my head and my arms going to match it. Also it was an individual 30sec start which can sometimes make it harder to push your fullest because you are usually by yourself the whole race. 30sec is quite a bit to gain on the girl ahead of you or to be caught by the girl behind you in a 5km. If you are caught in that situation then you know your not having a very good race!
At the highest part of the course I got a split from a coach saying I was in 2nd place. I started bib #32 out of something close to 70 I think, so being in 2nd place at this point was a good sign even though I knew I would have to have a lot of luck on my side if I wanted to stay near that position once the whole race was over. I crossed the line in 2nd place and had an easy enough time not looking at the big screen in the stadium to see my name get bumped down to 28th place while the rest of the girls came in.
Another top 30 finish. It's not a top 20, but it was the best I could do that day and I have to be happy with that!
This race was short and...un-sweet. Quite painful in fact. We kept being told to not start too hard and to take the altitude into consideration. Usually starting too hard isn't something I do, so I knew I didn't have to worry about that. Instead, my focus was making sure I would be able to snap out of the 90%-effort start and be able to go at 100% for last 4km. I think I did this well. A lot of the course was climbing so it was important for me to get into a good rhythm and kind of zone out while keeping the rhythm going in my head and my arms going to match it. Also it was an individual 30sec start which can sometimes make it harder to push your fullest because you are usually by yourself the whole race. 30sec is quite a bit to gain on the girl ahead of you or to be caught by the girl behind you in a 5km. If you are caught in that situation then you know your not having a very good race!
At the highest part of the course I got a split from a coach saying I was in 2nd place. I started bib #32 out of something close to 70 I think, so being in 2nd place at this point was a good sign even though I knew I would have to have a lot of luck on my side if I wanted to stay near that position once the whole race was over. I crossed the line in 2nd place and had an easy enough time not looking at the big screen in the stadium to see my name get bumped down to 28th place while the rest of the girls came in.
Another top 30 finish. It's not a top 20, but it was the best I could do that day and I have to be happy with that!
