WMA M45 5,000M Race Report

To quote the Grateful Dead my journey to this summers World Championships was"a strange trip"
Beginning last February I began to get my head around moving up to 5,000m and subsequently began to train likewise,in April and May I ran back to back sub 16s (15.57.7.-15.56.5.) and felt I was ready for Nationals where I then ran a 20 second pr to claim bronze in 15.36.8. and cement my belief that 5,000m was my best chance to reach the podium a year later in Sacramento......or so I thought,following my silver in the 800m 2 days later in 2.02.4. I then thought that 800m was my best bet and thus began the plan to run the 800m this year at Worlds.......
By the time the deadline for entry for Worlds came in mid April my indoor form indicated that my better races had been over 3,000m and 5,000m,frankly 2.06 and 2.10 over 800m wasn't going to get it done and thus began the push for Worlds at 5,000m.

When my outdoor debut at 5,000m wound up at 16.21.8. I though I'd just ran a bad race but 6 weeks later when I could only muster a 16.25.9. I knew something was wrong,I just didn't know what and it took another three and a half weeks to be diagnosed w/ low ferritin levels by which time I knew I would not be at my best in just over 4 weeks at Sacramento and Worlds but said wtf and went anyway.
Based on my seed time of 15.36.8. I was selected for the seeded final,I think there were 56 of us split into 2 finals,28 for the seeded final,28 for the unseeded final,however come race day only 18 of us in the seeded final showed up,10 guys less to duke it out w/.

We couldn't have asked for a better evening to run at Hughes Stadium on Saturday,w/ a 7.35pm gun time conditions were ideal,the sun was setting over the stadium and the back straight was in shade.
The starting line positions were drawn prior to the discovery we had 10 no shows I had #25 which gave me an outside lane position ,if memory serves me only one other runner lined up on my outside as we toed the line.
From the gun I eased my way through the opening 100m where the field joined together my pre race goal was to get into the middle of the pack and just hold my ground,the last thing I wanted was to end up in no mans land.
I came through 400m in 74 seconds which is what I had hoped for,maybe w/ hindsight 80 second pace would've been better but I'd gotten into 10th which is where I felt I should be.

I came through the opening mile in 4.59,again w/ hindsight 5.20 pace might've been better but once the "toothpaste is out of the tube......"
I forgot where my position was now,the race had strung out and it was getting to the stage where unless I was overtaking the runner ahead of me I was in danger of falling into no mans land,it felt very similar to my last 2 5,000s where over the second half of the race I'd have to duel w/ another runner over several laps.
10.33 at 2 miles,a 10.34 split,I was having to dig deep over the final 5 laps as the back and forth between myself and the other runner I was battling w/ continued.
I forget on which lap I passed Mike Blackmore on the back straight.....he was walking I should point out and on the back straight w/ 3 laps to go the lead three runners,Francisco Javier Fontaneda,Sergey Perminov and Ben Reynolds went by me,my pre race aims were don't finish last and don't get lapped..... at least in 13th I wasn't going to finish last!!!
Just after the lead three went by me I made my move to overhaul 12th one last time and strike for home w/ 1,000m to go.

I missed the 3 mile split on my way to 12th in 16.54.1. once again I've managed to run slower than the race b4,a trend I'd like to see reversed come Nationals if I want to medal I'll have to.
Overall 12th was probably the best I could hope for under the circumstances,my pr of 15.36.8. would've put me in the mix,I always believed I'd have to run 15.26 to medal and the top three went:15.23.2.-15.27.3.-15.27.9.-,15.36.8. would've gotten me 4th......
David Moorcroft finished 14th in the 84 Olympic 5,000m final after coming in as a firm favourite but a pelvic injury put the kybosh on that,I can relate.
Yesterday I changed my screen saver until now it was Eamonn Coghlan winning the Helsinki 83 World Championships but my own World Championships modeled Eamonn's final Olympic performance in the 5,000m semis in Seoul 88 where he finished second last in the semis.

So that's my debut at Worlds,I may reconsider Porto Alegre in Brazil in 2 years time if I can make a fair fist of the 10,000m in the next 18-22 months.