Yesterday I raced the Refuge Coffee Run 5k in Clarkston. This race supports Refuge Coffee, an organization that supports the refugee community with employment, job training, and community for resettled refugees and immigrants. I have never run this race before. My friend, John, talked me into running this event.

Official time

23:53

Average pace

7:41 min/mi

VDOT

41.5 (73°F)

Splits

Mile 1

7:34

Mile 2

7:57

Mile 3

7:36

Final 0.1mi

0:47 (6:42/mi)

Ranking

Overall

35/508

Male

28/209

Age Group (M40–44)

1/25

Event Page

Refuge Coffee Run

Strava Activity

Refuge Coffee Run 5k

Results

Refuge Coffee Run

My strategy was to aim for 7:30 for the first mile and try to pick up the pace each subsequent mile. I think I just didn’t have it in the legs yesterday. The first mile was a touch slower, 7:34, but 7:26 Grade Adjusted Pace (GAP), so that counts. Mile 2, however, was slower (7:47 GAP) and mile 3 was in between (7:39 GAP).

The hills just killed me, and my legs felt heavy. I wasn’t breathing too hard, but I just didn’t feel like I could get any more out of my legs. They have generally felt heavy these past couple of weeks, so this is unfortunately consistent.

The third mile marker was almost at the top of a hill before the final turn towards the finish. I kicked after the turn and had enough juice to hit 6:42(6:47 GAP)/mi pace. Usually if I had that much left for a kick I’d say I could’ve run harder in the race, but I just didn’t feel it in me.

Even with the struggle, I won my age group. So that’s nice.