What a fantastic night for a run! I left work a little early once traffic started to show on the map, and I arrived with seemingly plenty of time. Kevin was already warming up for the master's mile, so I quickly grabbed my bib number, dropped off my bag off and jogged around a bit with him. There was a solid group of CSU folks running, so I was able to jog around a bit with Amory, Danny, and Neil and his son all at various times.
I watched some of the mile races for the 60+, some of the 50+, and then I watched Kevin, Amory, and Danny in the 40+ mile. As they were finishing Neil mentioned to me about grabbing my hip number, and I stupidly didn't realize that we were about to start. As in, less than 5 minutes to start...I'm not sure how I was so absent minded, but...I was! My pre-race routine was thrown completely out the window and I had to rush to get my hip number, grab my singlet, pin my bib on, and get my spikes on....all in a matter of about 3 minutes.
I tied my spikes on the track, and had time for one half-hearted stride before being called to the line. Wonderful. The first lap was a blur. I had moved to the back of a relatively slow pack, and I think I passed the 409m mark in 1:14ish. There was a decent sized pack that had started to separate during the second lap, and I was in no man's land already. I ham and egged the second and third lap a bit too much. I felt pretty comfortable, which is a bad sign effort-wise for a mile race. I hit 1209 at 3:44.2 and closed in 1:11.2 to finish in about 4:56. I closed the final 100 especially well.
All in a all it was a mediocre performance. Being 12 seconds off my PR is a lot, but what should I expect after being so poorly prepared? I'm not too disappointed though - this event is really fun, and to feel as comfortable as I did while running a 4:56 is a good sign. With a few weeks of specific work and sharpening, I think I'd be in a good spot. That will have to wait though as I'm going to focus on 10k specific work with the Friday Night Lights 10k at the end of July.
Foxboro Against Diabetes 5k
With one day of easier running, Elizabeth and I arrived in Foxboro amped up for the 4th race in the NERunner Pub Series. We found a nice parking spot in the shade, and after grabbing our numbers I bumped into Kevin and we jogged the course together. I thought there might be some hills, but I was wrong - the course is pancake flat. If not for the very warm temperatures and baking sun, it would've been a great day to run fast.
When the gun went off, I went out quick and tried to gauge the right effort level based on the temps. I typically don't do well in the sun and heat, but a 5k is short enough that I don't have time to fall apart. I passed the mile in 5:12, and I was in a small group that trailed TJ and the eventual winner. As we turned onto the main road, and into direct sunlight, I backed off the pace and Danforth and another HFC runner quickly gapped me. I grabbed some water from the first stop and dumped it on my head and felt the cold water turn hot as it trickled down my neck my neck. I was able to find a groove though, and held it for the next ~1.75 miles. I had lost ground during the second mile, and made a little bit up during the 3rd, but not quite enough. I noticed Joe O'Leary behind me having a great day, so I kicked just enough to keep him at a comfortable distance.
Splits:
5:12
5:22
5:24
49s
Final: 16:47, good for 5th place - Full Results
Provincetown 10k
After the Foxboro 5k, Elizabeth and I made our way to the south shore for my nephew's high school graduation. A beautiful afternoon meant we would be taking our time before driving to the cape. So at around 11pm, we finally arrived in Truro and eventually went to bed. I woke up early enough to have some coffee and oatmeal before Elizabeth drove me about a mile from the start. I made sure to do a long warm up since I was certainly a bit tight after the previous three days. On the line I noticed a female runner who had run the Fresh Pond two-lapper comfortably under 30 minutes, and a college aged youngin' - both of whom I expected to compete with. I chatted briefly, and when the gun went off, I tucked in behind the college guy.
Normally, I enjoy going out at a fast pace to create some separation, but this time around my legs were having none of it. I was able to settle into a quick pace, but a gap was forming. As we turned from Commercial Street and eventually onto route 6, I tried to find a rhythm and see if I could close some ground. Unfortunately, my rhythm was a glacial 5:47 pace, and I made up no ground. I counted off the seconds a few times to see how far back I was, and the gap remained unchanged - so he had slowed as well, but he was likely coasting comfortably. With the gap he created, and less than half of the race remaining I didn't have enough real estate or pop in my legs to make a move. I was happy to notice that the 5:50ish pace felt very relaxed. A slight quickening of the pace resulted in very heavy breathing, but think I could've held 5:50 with relative comfort for a few more miles.
After passing Elizabeth by the side of the road enjoying her morning coffee, I turned onto Commercial and noticed Sheedy was closing well. I accelerated just a bit to keep her at a comfortable distance and finished 2nd in 35:19 - a new PR, but it still remains soft. I'm confident that I'm not far off from sub 34 shape with a couple weeks of good training (and eating/sleeping), followed by appropriate rest.This race was made especially fun thanks to a delicious post-10k breakfast with Jonathan and Barb at Edwige.
Splits:
5:35
5:39
5:47
5:47
5:51
5:41
59s
Results
Photos + Photos
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