Year of Races

Ok.  So, I’ve fallen behind in my blogging.  Let me try to quickly catch everyone up on what I’ve been running lately.

On 7/31, I was out in Kennesaw running the Run for Life 5k which is part of the Georgia State Games.  They offered a 10k and a 5k, but I chose to run the 5k due to time constraints.  Surprisingly, it was hot and humid {sarcasm}.  I felt like overall I ran pretty well in this race.  There were some hills that I tackled strongly, but I just couldn’t maintain that elusive pace that I seemed to find for the Woodstock Freedom Run.  I finished in 22:07 which was good enough for 2nd in my age group.  I got a nice medal, which, by the way, is my 2nd Georgia State Games medal.  The first one came back in the 90’s for racquetball in case you were wondering.

• Official Results
• Garmin Stats

Shirt

2nd 35-39

I took the weekend of 8/7 off.  This was my first weekend without a race since the Marietta Mardi Gras 5k got canceled due to ice & snow back on 2/13.  My neighborhood tennis team made it to the ALTA City Finals on 8/7, so I didn’t have time for a race.  It’s ok though.  I’m still on pace to put in 52+ races this year and accomplish my goal.

On 8/14, I was in Marietta for the Dog Days 5k.  I had been looking forward to this event for a while.  Last year, as I started to pay more attention to my health, I signed up for and ran my first ever 5k.  It happened to be the Dog Days 5k.  So, I was using this year’s race as a measuring stick to see how far I’d come in the past year.  Once again, I ran a solid race, but just couldn’t get the pace down to where I wanted it to be.  I finished in 21:52.  Really good time for me, but not in the running for an award.  I think I finished 5th in my age group.  The big thing is that from 2009 to 2010, I’ve improved my 5k time from 27:07 to 21:52 and I’m still getting stronger.  Also, this year’s event had technical shirts that are really nice.

• Garmin Stats
• Results

Shirt

Last week, 8/21, I was again in Kennesaw.  This time it was for the Music on the Mountain 5k.  The race was held partly on the cross country course around the Kennesaw Mountain High School campus.  The weather turned nasty right before the race and it poured rain about 10 minutes before the start.  It also opened up again during the race, so, combine the wet stuff with the dirt trails, and you’ve got the recipe for a FUN and muddy race.  I had worn my trail shoes in anticipation of the off-road part of the race and also because I knew the weather could get ugly.  I was glad I did.  They helped me keep my footing on the slippery slopes of the trails.  About 2 miles of the race was off road.  I really had fun with this race.  I ran hard and, other than one high school kid, I didn’t let anyone pass me during the last 2 miles of the race.  I finished in 22:45, which was good for 2nd in my age group.

• Official Results
• Garmin Stats

Finishing up strong

Shirt

Medal

Awards

Ok, so we’re caught up now on the races.  This weekend, Alysia will be joining me again as we head to the Marietta Square for the DI Dash 5k.  Wish us luck!

I’m also thick in the middle of my marathon training plan.  I just did my 13 mile long run last Sunday.  I decided to make it a 13.1 mile run so I could compare my time to my Berry Half Marathon time back in March.  I’m happy to report that I bettered the time by 6 minutes.  I’m feeling good about where I stand with the training and I’m hoping to run in the 1:40’s for the Atlanta 13.1 in October.

Etowah River Run 5k

I had a great time this Saturday at the Etowah River Run 5k at Cherokee High School.  It’s a well-known fact that the course is downhill and flat, so it’s a pretty popular event.  It also falls right into the conditioning period for high school cross country, so it draws a good crowd of teenage runners.  This was my first year running it, but it was one of the races I’ve been looking forward to this year.  My buddy, Jason, who ran Sawnee Mountain with me last week was running as well.

My plan was to try to hang with Jason.  Didn’t work out too well, but I still ended up with a good time.  Jason ran a 19-something (with a shoe untied the whole no less) and there was no way I could keep up with that.  I was with him through the first mile at 6:34, but he said something along the lines of “let’s go” and he went.  I didn’t.  My next mile was slower at 6:43 as we cruised the Boling Park parking lot.  The last mile was on the flat trail at Boling Park and I could only manage a 7:18.  I wish those splits were reversed so I could say I finished strong, but I was struggling at the end.

I ended up running a 21:36 to finish 5th in my age group and 11 seconds off my PR.  Not too bad for a HOT and humid summer morning in Georgia.

My good friend, Tim, also ran the race, but, unfortunately, I never saw him.  We finished less than a minute apart (he ran 22:09), but just never crossed paths.  Nate also showed up and put down a great time of 23:55.  The race was well organized and had plenty of fluids and food afterward.

Best part of the day had to be seeing Jason’s son absolutely dominate the 1K fun run.  9 years old and the kid can fly.  He won easily and ran up front the entire race.  Really cool to watch and cheer him and his sister on.

• Official Results
• Garmin stats

Shirt

Alysia and I hit a big milestone this past week — 10 years of marriage.  We got out of town without the kids and spent a nice long weekend on St. Simon’s Island.  As the wonderful, supportive wife that she is, Alysia agreed to run the Tidelands Turtle Trot 5k on Jekyll Island the Sunday of our little getaway.  It was a small, small, small scale event, but still part of the Run & See Georgia Grand Prix Series.  In fact, the two guys who put on the race basically do it just to collect some easy points in the series.  Last year, there were 19 participants (yes, 19).  This year though, the race exploded onto the scene with 43 runners!

The race is held at the Jekyll Island 4-H Center.  It’s mostly asphalt sidewalk, but there is about a half mile of beach/boardwalk running at the end.  As we stood around in the parking lot chatting, I kind of took in the other runners.  There were a lot of Masters age group participants.  For a couple weeks I had been thinking that maybe I could actually win this race outright.  Crazy talk, I know, but, at the same time, I had improved a great deal and the competition didn’t look too tough (especially with so few runners).  Maybe this was my morning…

At the starting line, we went over the course.  It was an out and back on the sidewalk.  Pass the dead snake, turn around at the cone, pass the 2-mile mark and turn into the Jekyll Island Soccer Complex, go down the boardwalk, run down the beach, come up the boardwalk at the 4-H center and finish line.  Very flat obviously.  First come, first serve on the sea shell awards table.

The first mile into the race we broke off into a lead group of 4 runners:  Bo (the race director & Grand Prix Series points fiend), 30-something white guy, 50-something black guy, and myself.  We had a nice steady pace going.  I stayed in 4th, and was perfectly happy following the other guys.  I figured it would come down to the end and I would see if I could make my move (or something like that) and maybe win.  We passed the dead snake and it was gross.

At the turnaround we were all still in a line.  I felt strong even though the air was thick from high humidity.  It was a hot morning and the sweat was just collecting on my body.  Everybody was breathing hard trying to get that precious oxygen.

At the 2 mile mark is when things started to shake out.  Bo had placed a bucket of bottled water there and the 30-something guy, who had been leading our pack the whole race, slowed to grab one and started drinking.  Bo also started fading back at about the same time, so, all of a sudden, it’s me and the black guy.  I had some momentum going so I decided “what the heck” let’s take the lead and see what happens.  I moved ahead and kept the pace going down through the soccer complex and onto the beach.  It was really a two person race at this point and I could hear him breathing behind me.

The beach was tough!  The packed sand wasn’t too bad, but you could still feel it shift under your foot with each strike.  I think it slowed me down a tiny bit.  My rival pulled up beside me just as we came to the sign drawn in the sand for our turn to the 4-H boardwalk.  Here is where the race finally changed.  We had a stretch of deep, loose sand to run through.  It was so difficult to maintain any kind of pace, but I plowed through it fast and furious.  My heart rate peaked into the 190s as I put just enough distance behind me and 2nd place.  Once we got through the deep sand there was a long stretch of boardwalk.  I tried to push as hard as my heart would allow.  I could hear him breathing still, but he was much farther back.  I knew I had it if I could just keep moving!  I rounded the corner and turned into the volleyball pit and crossed the line at 22:39.  1st place overall!  The crowd (one dude maintaining the clock and handing out finishing cards) went wild (“nice run. Don’t forget your card”).  Most likely the only time in my life I’ll outright win an event.

I walked over to the awards table and grabbed a seashell trophy.  I left a nice glass case full of seashells and sand for the 2nd place guy.  I just didn’t want anything that big.  I love my little trophy and it may be my prize possession now, kind of like the sexy leg lamp from A Christmas Story.

My trophy

It was a small but fun event.  Even though the race only had 43 runners, it was tougher than usual with the heat, humidity and sand.  I’m proud of my 22:39 and absolutely loved the experience of running with the lead pack.  It was great following along in 4th waiting to pounce, but it was really stressful leading and not knowing what those guys behind you were plotting.  Either strategy though gave me valuable experience for future races when I’m battling a pack of elite runners for 137th place.

Alysia also ran the race and did fantastic!  She came within 5 seconds of a new 5k PR.  Without the sand she would have had it for sure.  I’m seeing a sub-30 5k in her near future…

Maybe I’ll have to make the trip down to Jekyll Island again next year to defend my title (man, it’s cool saying that).  I guess we’ll see how it’s going next year, but, for now, I’m thrilled to sit here as the 2010 Tidelands Turtle Trot 5k Champion.  hahahahaha.  I’ve come a long way from an anonymous finish in 27:35 on New Years Day.

• Official Results
• Garmin Stats

Woodstock Freedom Run Shirt

I decided at the last minute to go ahead and run the Woodstock Freedom Run 5k on Saturday.  I had originally planned to take the day off to rest up for my first Peachtree, but the lure of a close race and a relatively flat course sucked me in.  So, there I was again, 7:30 AM, toeing the line for another race.

The weather was cooler than it had been and the humidity was much lower as well.  My body wasn’t feeling too great though.  I’ve got a few nagging pains going on that I’m trying to work through, so I used most of the pre-race time jogging around to get loose.

The Woodstock Freedom Run is set in Downtown Woodstock.  It’s an out-and-back style course.  It draws a pretty big crowd because a) it offers cash prizes to the top 3 men, women, masters men, and masters women b) it’s on a holiday weekend and c) it’s really flat.  So, there were quite a few folks lined up ready to roll.  I knew that in order to place in my age group and win one of the coveted coffee mugs, I’d have to run like never before.

I lined up about 4 rows deep, just behind the elite runners.  At the gun (really just the Mayor saying “Go”), we all took off at a crazy breakneck pace.  I tried to hang with some of the elites, but eventually I settled into a pace I could handle.  My first mile came in at 6:33.  I was really moving.  I was just hoping I could hang on, but I felt pretty good.  Somewhere in that first mile, I got passed by a group of women who were just flying.  I tried not to let it bother me, but, jeez, how fast were they going?  6:00?  5:45?  Yikes.

The second mile came and went without incident.  I was still moving along, but definitely feeling the pace.  I was able to put down a 6:40.  I did get passed by some dude wearing knee-length plaid shorts and Vibram Five-Finger shoes.  I think he ended up finishing at 19-something.  Amazing.  When he passed me, I actually looked over in shock because I initially thought I was being passed by some ponytail-dude in flip-flops.  I also saw the leader come by me in the opposite direction on the way to the finish.  My God.  This guy was FLYING.  He finished at 15:13 – almost a minute ahead of 2nd place.  Crazy.  He was the defending champ.  I guess it’s an easy $300 for him.

The third mile was tough.  I was struggling to maintain my pace.  The crowd had spaced out and I had less people to pace myself by.  It was just me and my thoughts of dying.  I knew I was on pace for a record time, so I pushed through to my happy place and trudged on.  My split was 7:00.  As I approached and passed the 3-mile mark, I knew a PR was in sight.  I used up whatever I had left in the tank and finished strong.  21:25 official time, new PR, and my first sub-7 minute mile 5k!

I figured I was still probably not good enough for the coffee mug, but I stuck around for the awards ceremony just in case.  In the end, I didn’t come home with the prize, but I still left feeling really great about my performance.  I can’t help but think that the speedwork I’ve been doing with Jason has maybe started to pay some dividends.  Time will tell if Saturday was just a combination of good weather and a flat course or if my training is making a difference.  Either way, I’m going to continue to hit the track once a week to try to get faster.

• Official results (I finished 5th in my age group and 53rd overall)
• The shirt’s not my favorite.  White cotton that looks like something you’d get at a used car super blowout sales weekend.
• Timing antenna inside the race bib.  Yay for electronic timing!  Booo for having an antenna in the race bib that makes the bib about the size of a poster board!
• Garmin Stats — is anyone else fascinated with looking at their Garmin stats?  I really can’t imagine running without this anymore.
• Anyone reading this that lives in or near Woodstock will be happy to know that the downtown J. Christopher’s is FINALLY open.  Sweet!

My first Peachtree Road Race was on Sunday.  I had a great time!  I’ll try to get a recap of that one up here in the next day or two.  Stay tuned…

Shirt

On Sunday morning I was down in the heart of Atlanta at Centennial Olympic Park.  The event was the Adventist Race for Health 5k/10k.  In these type of events where you choose between a 5 or a 10k run, I normally choose the 10k.  This morning though, still sore from a Saturday tennis match, I elected to do the 5k.  I didn’t really expect too much from the race.  It seemed to be a small-scale affair.  I was surprised to see though that they had around 300+ participants and electronic timing.

The course was a loop with the 10k folks doing the loop twice.  It was again hot and humid as has been the norm here in Atlanta.  We got started at around 7:10.  I took off pretty well and ran a sub-7 mile the first mile as the adrenaline was flowing as usual.  I did slow down a bit in the second mile and then the last mile was mostly uphill.  I ran pretty strong on the uphills and passed quite a few other runners (probably mostly 10k folks).  I didn’t quite get to my Big Peach 5k or Holly Springs Memorial Day 5k pace of 7:01, but I did average 7:05 for a finish time of 22:10.  Not a PR, but still a solid run, especially on stiff, sore legs.

I stuck around for the awards because I had a feeling I had placed in my age group.  It seemed, as is usually the case, most of the stronger runners were doing the 10k.  This ended up being the only downside of the event.  It took over an hour (even with electronic timing) to get the awards ceremony underway.  It was worth the wait though.  I finally won my age group.  I’ve had a few seconds and thirds, but that first place trophy had been eluding me.  It feels good to get the monkey off my back.  Please don’t worry about how many people were actually in my age group.  {cough}5{cough} That doesn’t matter.  Forget about it.  The official results are on the Adventist Race for Health website.  I finished 8th overall.

My first age group win

I decided at the last minute to run the Woodstock Freedom Run 5k on Saturday, so that will be my next race.  It was right down the street from me, so I just couldn’t pass it up.  I’ll be doing the Peachtree Road Race on Sunday.  I’m really looking forward to it.  It’s such a tradition here in Atlanta and I’m loving the opportunity to finally be a part of it.

Holly Springs Memorial Day 5k

Saturday I was just 2 miles down the street from my house for the Holly Springs Memorial Day 5k.  It was shaping up to be a fun race with Nick, Christina and Nate also running.  The race got started at Holly Springs Elementary school.  It was a little windy during the race, but really the weather was pretty nice.  No rain with just a hint of chill in the air.

And they're off!

The course was a bunch of rolling hills.  Just one after another.  I started off pretty fast and, about a mile into the run, kept hearing this guy behind me yelling out pace times.  He was so loud I was wondering who this guy is with the mouth.  I’m moving at about a 6:45 pace and I hear “come on!  The guys ahead of us have nothing on us!  Especially not for my man, Tony.”  Yep.  I knew him.  It was my neighbor, Jason.  I hadn’t had a chance to run with him yet and apparently he’s a talker.  So, Jason and I ran together for about a quarter of a mile or so, but I couldn’t keep up with him and he slowly pulled away from me talking the whole way.

Me finishing

My pace really slowed over the second half of the race, but I picked it up on the downhill finish and came in with a solid 22:05.  Not a P.R., but a good 7:02 pace.  I finished about a minute or so behind Jason.  He won our age group and I claimed second.  I added another medal to my collection.

Holly Springs 5k Medal

Nate came in at 24-something.  Nick was at 27:04.  Christina at 29:33.  Good times on a tough course.  Here are a couple pics of Nick and Christina finishing up.  Thanks Trey for coming out early in the morning and getting some pictures for us.

Christina Finishing

Nick Finishing

After the race we hung around for the awards ceremony.  It turned out that Christina had won her age group!  That’s awesome.  I have 10 medals/trophies/plaques and I am still looking for that elusive 1st place award.  Congrats Christina!

After the run - Me, Christina, Nick

Christina and I with our hardware

• I’m not sure we’ll ever have official times posted.  I’ll keep my eyes open for them, but don’t hold your breath. UPDATED: results (page 37)
• The shirt is grey cotton with the Holly Springs Memorial Day 5k logo
• Here are my Garmin stats because you’re dying to study them.

Holly Springs Memorial Day 5k Shirt

One other thing.  Most races hand you a bag when you check in with various items inside.  Usually you’ll find inside the bag things like your race shirt, other race entry forms, a pen, a water bottle, coupons to local business.  Stuff like that.  Well, the Holly Springs Memorial Day 5k gets the award for most random bag item:

Rice?

It was a great race Sunday morning in Kennesaw, GA for the Full House 5k.  This was the second race in The Time is Now Series.  The premise of this race was that at each kilometer you would be handed a playing card.  At the end of the race, the people with the best poker hands won prizes.  Pretty cool, huh?  Well, they ended up not handing them out on the course and just dealt you five when you finished the run instead.  Still a novel idea and an interesting twist to the 5k.

Before the race I met up with Nate, Nick, Christina and my mom.  It was great to see everyone out running again.  It had been a few races since I last had some company.  It definitely makes the race more enjoyable.

Mom, Me, Christina

I feel like a broken record, but once again the course was pretty hilly.  I guess if I’m looking for flatter courses I should move.  Atlanta isn’t really the place for fast, flat tracks.  The worst hill came about midway through the race.  Here’s a pic of the elevation changes.

Elevation Chart

I ended up running really well.  My Garmin put me in at 20:56, which is a new 5k PR.  There was some question on whether the course was a full 3.12 miles, but Nate seems to think it was after measuring it on mapmyride.com.  I’ll trust him.

Nate, Nick, Christina and my mom all set new PRs!  Everyone’s been working really hard and it’s starting to pay off with some impressive times.  Nate and Nick finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the 30-34 age group.  I finished 3rd in the 35-39 age group.  All in all, a very successful day for our little group.

Nick, me, Nate with our medals

We earned a nice little medal for our effort.  So far, I’m 2 for 2 in medals in the Time is Now races.  Hopefully I can keep the streak going in August at the Summer Harvest Gallop 5k.

3rd place medal

You may be wondering what’s up with the purple shirt I’m wearing.  Good question.  The Time is Now race series supports Cystic Fibrosis research.  One of my dear friends, Katie, is currently battling CF and she volunteered to make me a shirt for the race.  It turned out great!  Not only did I get to stand out in my purple shirt, but I also set a new PR!  By my book, that makes the shirt lucky.

The Full House 5k shirt is pretty nice….if you’re a chick.  Seriously, what’s up with the flowers?  It’s a nice technical shirt, so I’m still going to wear it.  I’m not afraid.  I just ran a 20:56 in a purple shirt for crying out loud.  What’s a few flowers gonna hurt?

Full House 5k shirt

• OFFICIAL RESULTS
• True Speed Photos was there:  Me #1, me #2, me #3, Nate, Nick #1, Nick #2, Mom.  Christina was apparently too fast for cameras to capture her.
• My poker hand sucked.  King high.  I think the best overall hand was a King high straight flush.
• Reviews of the race.  I always like reading what other people thought of the race.
• I had a great time.  I think everyone did really.  I know Nate, Christina, and Nick are all in for this Saturday’s Holly Springs Memorial Day 5k.  Anyone else running it?
• I’m kind of doubling up this weekend again.  I’m doing the Celebrate America 10k on Memorial Day.  Good way to start Memorial Day.  I can be guilt-free later on as I eat hamburgers and drink beers knowing I burned a good 600 calories.

In an effort to make up for the race that got canceled back in February, I doubled up this weekend.  Saturday I was in Alpharetta at the 14th Annual Mayor’s Challenge 10k and Sunday I was back at Boling Park in Canton for the Alvin Price 5k for Cancer Research.  Neither race went really great, but I ran solid times for me in both.

Mayor's Challenge shirt

14th Annual Mayor’s Challenge 10k

This was an early start time of 7:15 AM.  I had set my alarm for 5:15 Friday night and had gotten to bed pretty early.  Turns out I set the wrong alarm and so I woke up at 6:17 wondering why it was so light out.  After a brief second of panic, I jumped out of bed, gathered my gear, got some coffee and hit the road.  I made it over to Will’s Park in plenty of time, but my morning routine was shot.  I really hate being behind schedule.

There appeared to be a few hundred folks running the 5k & 10k, which both started at the same time.  The course was a double loop around Will’s Park and downtown Alpharetta.  The hills weren’t too bad, but the humidity was thick.  I ran the first 5 miles really well, but ended up getting passed by a ton of people at the end.  Here’s a photo of one of the people that flew by me in that last mile.

Eat my dust, sonny.

I ended up running a 47:23, which is about a minute off my PR.  I didn’t stick around for the awards.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t place.  I’ll keep an eye open though for the official results.

The shirt was advertised as a technical shirt.  It wasn’t.  100% cotton and actually pretty ugly.  I don’t really understand how you can say a race is giving away technical shirts and then not have them.  Oh well.  They did have a pancake breakfast though for all finishers.  That’s pretty cool.

My Garmin crapped out on me when trying to upload the run, so I’ve got no stats.

Alvin Price 5k Shirt

Alvin Price 5k for Cancer Research

An 8 AM start and a location 10 minutes from my house and I was loving life.  The race was held at Boling Park.  It was 2.5 flat loops around the park.  It was mostly crushed gravel path and some dirt/grass trail, so you couldn’t quite go as fast as on road, but it was a prime 5k course for a new P.R.  Unfortunately, the course was measured short at 2.89 miles.  I ran a 20:52, which would be a P.R. on a regulation 5k course, but, with the distance at 2.89, it was actually only a 7:13/mile pace.  This is 12 seconds per mile slower than my Big Peach 5k run.  Here are my Garmin stats.

yay me

I did come in second in my age group though and got a nice trophy.  The winner of my age group was in at 17-something, so no hope in catching that guy.  Here’s a picture of him.

Fast

I feel like I’ve kind of hit a plateau.  I think in order to get my times down more I’m going to need to do some more focused training — hills, intervals, tempo, fartlek, whatever.  I’m still pretty new at this running thing so I need to figure out how to do some of these types of training runs.  It’s easy to read about them, but another thing entirely to get out there and do them right.

Next week is the Full House 5k.  Should be fun.  Who’s with me?

River Green Run 5k Shirt

On Saturday I ran the River Green Run 5k in Canton, GA.  It was a blustery morning with threatening storm clouds.  For a few anxious minutes before the race I really thought we would get poured on.  Luckily, though, we escaped any rain and got in a nice run.

Let’s cut right to the chase.  I ran a 21:28.  PR right?  Wrong.  My Garmin measured the run at 2.97 miles.  The course was hilly and I knew the whole time that I wasn’t running as fast as last week’s Big Peach 5k PR effort.  So, when I rounded the corner to the uphill finish and saw the clock in the low 21’s, I was surprised and a bit skeptical.  Turns out I was right.  I’m not sure what happened.  Maybe the lead runners turned around too soon or maybe the course wasn’t marked correctly.  The website has the course mapped out and I had verified beforehand at mapmyrun.com.  Based on my Garmin stats it looks like we turned around too soon.  Oh well.  I didn’t deserve the PR anyways based on how I was running.  A full 5k distance would have left me at 22:30 or so.

With all that being said, the race was still a lot of fun.  It was a challenging, hilly course with a steep uphill finish.  The headwinds were strong which made it even tougher.  I did finish 2nd in my age group though and got a really nice little medal to show for it.

2nd place

• Ran into some friends (Freddie & Courtney).  Freddie was running his first 5k and he finished 2nd in his age group.  Very impressive.  That P90X must be working.  Courtney won her age group!   So, it was pretty cool standing around during the awards ceremonies with all three of us having medals around our necks.
• Shirt is white, cotton short-sleeve.
• Some pics of me:  Here, here, here, here, here.  The last three are at the start of the uphill finish.  I passed the dude in front of me.  Just an fyi because I know you were wondering.
• Official Results will be here
• Garmin Stats

The premier race in Atlanta this past Saturday was probably the Big Peach 5k.  I originally had plans to run the Derby Dash 5k near my home in Canton, but after a stretch of races that were slack about putting up race results, I decided to make the drive down to Atlanta and run a bigger, and probably better organized, event.  I’m certainly glad I made the trip.

Runners met in the Brookhaven MARTA station parking lot.  There was plenty of parking and plenty of room to do some warming up.  I checked in, pinned my bib on and attached my timing chip.  I was good to go so I decided to run some laps around the parking lot to warm up.  It was  a warm morning with really high humidity and an ever-present chance of rain.  I regretted wearing the long-sleeve shirt I had on, but at least it was light weight.

The race ended up having about 1600 runners.  Not everyone elected to pay the extra $5 to be timed, so they don’t all show up in the official results.  We lined up.  Here’s a good picture of the start.  I’m somewhere on the left, about 4-5 rows deep.  I lined up in a pretty good spot.  I didn’t have to dodge too many slower runners and I didn’t get trampled by 5-minute milers.  Here’s another good picture better showing the size of the race.

I had looked at the route on mapmyrun.com the day before, so I had a strategy going in. The first half was mostly downhill and the second half was mostly uphill.  I wanted to go out as fast as I could on the first mile so that I’d have built up a time buffer to use on the hills in the second and third miles.  My strategy worked pretty well.  Here were my splits:

Mile 1: 6:31

Mile 2: 7:01

Mile 3: 7:35

remainder: 6:01

As you can see, my pace definitely slowed on the hills.  I ended up setting a new 5k PR though on a fairly challenging course: 21:54.  Here are the official results.  Obviously, I didn’t win any awards. I finished 19th out of 76 in my age group.  In fact, to have taken 3rd in my age group, I would have had to run an 18:19.  I’m a long way from being able to do that.  The overall winner ran a crazy 15:06.  That’s ridiculous.  I was really excited to have gotten in under 22 minutes for the first time.  Maybe if I actually do some more focused training, I can get it down even lower.  Here’s a picture of me sucking wind as I approach the finish line.  I could see the clock and new I needed to pick up the pace to get under 22 minutes.

Big Peach 5k Shirt

• The shirt is very nice.  A Nike-branded short-sleeve technical shirt.  This was another perk of choosing a more popular 5k.
• The race results were up by Saturday afternoon.  That’s the kind of turnaround I like to see.  I know the timing chip helped in this, but it really is nice to see those results posted immediately
• Garmin Stats: