an amazing likeness
Just past the mid-point of February and here in the northeast there one change that gives hope is the sun is now setting closer to 5pm than 3pm. We’re actually still deep in winter, but the hint of light still on the horizon when starting the nightly run makes a huge difference.
We’ve got 3 racers who are defying the ground hog’s prediction and trying to run away from winter this weekend.
A quick scan of weather predictions shows buckindb will probably win the weather lottery with perfect race conditions – high 50’s and sunny. Sorry Testudo, 64F and sunny was making me sweat just reading about it. Pandora29 will dodge a weather bullet for Sunday’s half on the NH seacoast, as today’s snow and freezing rain will give way to 40F and some sun. More importantly, this course is brutal if the wind is blowing from the east and predictions are for light westerlies.
February 22, 2014
Testudo
Dahlgreen Trail 1/2 Marathon
13.1 miles
Dahlgreen Rail Heritage Trail, King George, VA
buckindb
Anthem 5K Fitness Classic
5K
Louisville, KY
February 23, 2014
Pandora29
Half at the Hamptons
Hampton Beach, NH
Wishing all our racers good luck, fleet feet and following winds for this weekend's endeavors !
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
go get 'em! Can't wait to here how they went
First or last...it's the same finish line
HF #4362
Good luck! How did it go?
Damaris
As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.
Fundraising Page
I had an awesome race on Saturday!
As MT predicted, I believe that I won the weather lottery! Clear skies, sunny, and a cool 43 °F!
This year, the course for the 11th Anthem 5K Fitness Classic was moved due to construction. Typically, the race is held downtown and runs along River Road, but due to downtown bridge/interstate construction, the course was moved to the Eastpoint Business Park, where Anthem's corporate headquarters is located. I live nearby to the new location, and I also happen to work in Eastpoint, so I am very familiar with the area. This will prove to be very useful...
I picked up a friend of mine and we left about 7:00 am, an hour before the race was scheduled to start. Nearing the highway, we noticed a backup of traffic on the over pass, undoubtedly due to the race. This year, there were an estimated 7000 runners registered for the Anthem 5K Fitness Classic. The exit ramps for the new course location are only a single lane, which was not very conducive to the amount of traffic. We decided to use the surface streets to get into the business park and then parked at my office. After a short walk, at 7:30 am we were warming up at the starting line.
Due to the delay in traffic and parking, the race was delayed for 30-40 minutes. We found some more friends of ours which made the delay more enjoyable.
The Anthem 5K Fitness Classic is the first race in a 3 race series called the Louisville Triple Crown of Running. This race is typically extremely crowded, but enjoyable. I find that after the first mile or so, the packs start to thin and it's easy to find my spot and settle into my pace. This year proved to be a bit different. The course was a bit "thinner", which made the packs thicker. I'd say that the packs didn't start to thin until nearly the 2 mile mark. Because of this congestion, I found myself weaving in and around runners for longer that I normally would.
My goal for this race was to set a PR of sub-30 minutes. I was close last year (30:20), but I wanted to set the tone for this racing season with a sub-30 5K. I demolished my goal and turned in a 28:47! I think that this is most in part to the congestion for the first part of the race. It pushed me forward and I found my self "racing" ("if I can just get around her... in front of him...") rather than settling.
I was hurting near the finish, which is when I realized what I had been doing. Knowing that the finish was just .25 mi away, I pushed to finish strong.
Unfortunately, some were not able to make it to the race in time due to traffic and parking. There are plenty of people upset about the logistics of the new course site. Thankfully, the race will return downtown next year. Although there are some who are upset and probably didn't have a good day, I had a great day and will always remember this year's Anthem 5K!
Next up, the Rodes City Run 10K in 2 weeks! The course for this race has also changed due to the same construction, but they've only moved the finish line. The majority of the course will remain the same.
That's awesome buckindb! Congrats.
It's hard when the course gets moved like that - good thing you know the area!
buck, congrats on the big ole PR. That race sounds tough, just for the logistics though.
Congrats on the PR Buck - that is awesome with all things considered.
Run, Walk, Crawl, just Finish.
HF # 1189
Congrats on the PR - how will you celebrate? In our running group anyone that gets a PR gets a nice bottle of wine (except me, I don't drink so I get a case of Smart Water :-)
Great race!!!
Ready, go.
Congrats on the PR - how will you celebrate? In our running group anyone that gets a PR gets a nice bottle of wine (except me, I don't drink so I get a case of Smart Water :-) Great race!!!
Hmm... How to celebrate? I'm mostly a solo runner. This year I've ran a couple of weekend with a group, but to be honest the ice has mostly kept me indoors. Hoping to correct that this weekend and get to know everyone a bit better.
So how have I celebrated? By telling anyone and everyone that will listen :-)
Nice job, buckin! Way to skip right over the 29-somethings! Good luck with the rest of the triple crown!