I sometimes hate it when I'm right.
I predicted that I would run 19:25 for my race this morning if I had an off day.
I ran 19:25 this morning.
The race started off well enough. I settled into a nice little group of runners including my friend Tim and that darn Joy G.
We hit the mile mark in 6:05.34 and I made a little surge at that point so that I didn't settle in too much and run a lot slower for the second mile. The first mile felt pretty good, I wasn't breathing hard and I felt pretty smooth and relaxed. Tim, Joy and I all hit the two mile mark in the neighborhood of 12:17.39 with a mile split of 6:12.05. At that point I chuckled because I had just set a two mile PR by four seconds and then I immediately tightened up and lost contact with my two companions. I got passed by four or five people and couldn't make myself go again until about the seventeen minute mark of the race. Unfortunately I had let Tim and Joy get too far ahead. I caught two or three of the people who passed me but finished eighteen seconds behind Tim (19:07) and about the same behind Joy who was only a few seconds back.
Tim ended up winning our age group and second place was 19:18, probably one of the five guys who passed me, and I was third in 19:25. I ran my third mile in 6:33.45 with a three mile time of 18:50.84 (a nine second PR) and closed out the last 189 yards in :35.14.
I'm happy with PRs for two, three and 5k but I was hoping they would be bigger. Humidity was a factor for everyone and I think that being under the weather most of the week took its toll on me that third mile. I am heartened by the fact that I managed to drop ten seconds off my previous best despite racing hard a week ago and being sick.
I'm not sure if my lousy third mile was a result of physical weakness or mental but I seem to have a thing with slowing down until about the last 800 of a 5k every time I run one. I need to figure out a way to push my mind past that and just run strong for three or four minutes until I get my second wind. I have probably given my competitors some ammunition for future races. Hang with Aaron until two and surge hard, his mind is weak at that point!
I don't know if Tim set a post drinking age personal best today but I know that Martha did in finishing her race in 20:14? I can't remember her time now but I will subtract a few seconds from what I think it was because last time I put her time down in here I added a few seconds and she sent me an e-mail politely pointing out that she had actually run seven seconds faster.
Good job Tim, Martha and Joy. I'll see you at the Premier Bank 5k on the 4th or at the Sizzling Mile a few weeks later.
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9 comments:
When I ran the Scholastic Challenge eons ago, they would add about 30 yards to the course each year. As a result, you probably broke 19 on the original course.
Was the finish on a slight uphill eons ago? If it was, that is where the 3 mile mark was on Saturday. I'm pretty sure I just up and choked my third mile which is why I didn't run as fast as I hoped.
Still no results posted on the website so I can't tell you how I placed overall or how many high school and college studs kicked my rear end. Hopefully they'll get them posted pretty soon. I haven't seen so many high school runners in one place since I watched the Capital Area Classic back in May.
I was rubbing elbows with a former CC all-stater (Staci Nelson from Chatham), a whole ton of local runners attending Eastern and most of the Glenwood cross country teams.
I don't remember anything even remotely resembling a hill back when I ran it (94-96 IIRC), so perhaps they've changed the course more dramatically since then.
It wasn't so much a hill as it was a slight incline in the road. The course doesn't have anything that can be remotely considered a real "hill."
If the race started in front of the beachhouse eons ago then they couldn't have changed the course too much.
I ended up placing 42nd overall, 41st male, that darn Joy G. beat me and 395 other people. The top three in my age group were all with in eight places and 18 seconds of each other.
David D. cranked out a 20:13 for 65th place and 5th in our age group so he may be starting to get back into shape from his injury last season. Tim and I might have to start watching out for him pretty soon.
My friend Martha ran her race in 20:21 which, according to her athlinks.com profile, looks like a 29 second PR for her. Good job! I'd like to run another 29 seconds faster myself.
athilinks.com is cool. It is like myspace for endurance athletes which means you can stalk, I mean scout, your competition. It even tracks your rivals and how you match-up head-to-head.
Yeah, they've clearly changed it then. The race started at the Springfield Running Center in those days.
You're starting to show your age Nate. By the way, when is your birthday? I'm just trying to figure out which one of us is older than the other.
Starting to show my age? I've been showing my age for nearly a decade!
As for my birthday, it's July 18. You're older than me. :-)
Older than you by a exactly a month. Damn. I can't give you too much crap about being old then. Did you like the pictures of Nathan that I put up? I think they're pretty good, especially his "come hither" one. Kim was taking a picture of him while he was napping and he woke up and smiled at her when he saw her hovering over him.
Yep. They're great shots. He's a keeper.
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