Exactly three weeks ago I ran my first 5K since 2005. (In 2006 and 2007 I was away on a military deployment.) My time in that July 29 race was 21:10, which I was pretty sure I could beat if I ran another 5K. So tonight I drove to Lowell, Massachusetts, with Dark Colt riding shotgun. He didn't run, but he held my keys and glasses during the race. The Last Call 5K was the seventh and last 5K race of a summer series, all sponsored by an Irish bar called Hookslide Kelly's in downtown Lowell. The bar's logo depicts an oldtime baseball player making a hook slide into a base. Spareribs is old enough to know what a hookslide is. After the race, Dark Colt and I had dinner in the bar with a couple of hundred other people: mostly racers and their hangers-on. Anyway, I know you will all want a detailed blow-by-blow of this race, complete with my sophisticated analysis. MILE 1 Total elapsed time on my watch: 3:49 The first mile was pretty speedy, but I could already tell it wasn't going to be a fast course, because of numerous twists and turns and ups and downs, many of them on a walking path along the Merrimack River. It was hard to pass people in the narrow places. Once I simply pushed my way between two men who were running elbow to elbow. "Sorry," I said. At the first mile marker, I checked my watch: 3:49. My first thought was, "Damn, I'm good," but then I realized the time wasn't changing. I must have hit my watch by accident during the first mile, perhaps while pushing between those two men. Despite the speedy time of 3:49 for my first mile, I still felt pretty good. MILE 2 Total elapsed time on my watch: 3:49 At the second mile marker, I checked my watch again. However, it still read 3:49, which was not useful. I began to get pretty tired during this mile. I'm sure I ran slower during mile 2. I think I crossed some bridges over the Merrimack River. Also I ran along some highways, hoping the cars wouldn't hit me from behind. MILE 3 Total elapsed time on my watch: 3:49 Plodding along the unfamiliar course, I never saw the marker for mile 3. I had two main problems in this race: not knowing my pace, and not knowing where I was on the course. LAST 0.1 MILE Total elapsed time on my watch: 3:49 Two guys passed me during the last 0.1 mile, which I never would have let them do if I had known it was the last 0.1 mile. However, since I hadn't seen the mile 3 marker, and I didn't know where the finish was, I let them go. The last 0.1 mile was on a boardwalk along the Merrimack River. To my chagrin, I saw the big digital timer at the finish line hit 20:00 as I was approaching. I crossed the line at 20:10. The official results were posted back at the bar. My stats: 20:10 (6:30 mile pace); 21/174 overall; 7/24 in M40-49. My time was exactly one minute faster than my 5K three weeks ago. I know I can run faster than I ran tonight. However, it was a PR by 16 seconds. My last 5K in 2005, before I went away for a year and a half, was 20:26. Because I only run 15 miles per week, I don't have a lot of strength. I think I need to work on my pacing, and it would help if my watch didn't stop during the race. Running these local courses more than once will help me, too, so I get to know where the mile markers are, when to kick, stuff like that. Dark Horse

WOW!!! You are a very speedy horse...great time and congrats on the PR!!

I thought you ran a 3:49? I agree with Ribs (did I really say that?), take care of that knee and get under 20 -- I predict 19:2X...

Good to see you posting again Dark Horse, and congrats on a great race. As the others have said, take care of that knee and you'll be well under 20:00 in no time.

Great job and congrats on the PR! Nice to see you posting again too. ~Mary

It's wonderful having a DH RR to read. You sure did well with your PR. It's especially meaningful that you did it without knowing your time or location during the race. Congratulations. TomS

How do you run so fast with only 15 miles per week? I'm kind of impressed. Glad you are running again.

Plodding along at 6:30 minute mile pace... hmmm, sense a bit of a disconnect here. You are one speedy pony when all the parts hold together. Nice race, Tim, and very cool that you and Dark Colt got to hang out for a bit. I haven't been able to get mine to do that sort of thing yet...