Notes
Annual Gobble Gobble Gobble road race. Last weekend's 5K didn't go so well and was a bit tired all week going into the race. An "off-day" yesterday on the bike was hoping to make my legs a bit fresher.
Saw some of the usual suspects at the starting line, including Antunes, Ian Nurse, Joe, Jake, and Paolo. Gun went off and was huffing pretty good at the top of the hill past the firehouse. I figured I was going out too fast with the leaders until I looked at my watch and saw 5:18 pace, much slower than the goal of 5:10-5:12 and certainly not going out too fast. This was a bad sign. I made up a bit of time over the rest of the first mile getting down to just below 5:10, however at that point I was low on energy.
I ran in a pack of about 3 with me holding the front and getting clipped on my heels but Greg G (who I later found out is friends with Longo). I was getting frustrated during the race with my feet getting clipped and doing all the work out front but with me sucking wind I was more concerned about just getting to the finish. Mile 2 was a disappointing 5:17 as I watched Antunes and the frontrunners pulling away.
Mule 3 is always a slow mile and this year was no exception. Using grade adjusted pace it ended up being my second fastest of the day but it was still a bit slower than I would have hoped if feeling strong.
Mile 4 starts with a slight uphill before hitting the steep down. I was even with the group of 3 at the top of the hill and quickly gave up a lot of ground on the downhill. It wasn't until we passed Willow and reached the flat that I found a bit of a surge and picked off Greg and nearly got the other guy. Had I not already run a terrible race and if the place meant something (i.e. USATF grand-prix) I would have sprinted but instead just surged hard into the finish. Only about 15 seconds faster than last year when I wasn't even running due to injury (but biking).
Disappointing race for the second time in a week, just nothing in the tank. Still had good fun after in the Burren and a good thanksgiving.
Place No. Name Guntime Nettime Pace Town St Ag Sex/Tot S Div/Tot Div Club
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1 879 Guillaume Adam 19:33 19:31 4:53 CAMBRIDGE MA 27 1/1231 M 1/3 MOVRA HRV WINS
2 2105 David Metzger 20:25 20:24 5:06 ROSLINDALE MA 31 2/1231 M 2/3 MOVRA
3 1714 Michael Carlone 20:34 20:33 5:09 SOMERVILLE MA 26 3/1231 M 3/3 MOVRA
4 2245 Christopher Antunes 20:43 20:42 5:11 BOSTON MA 36 4/1231 M 1/370 M3039 SOMERVILLE ROAD RUNNERS
5 3113 Jordan Donnelly 20:48 20:47 5:12 CAMBRIDGE MA 30 5/1231 M 2/370 M3039 THE HEARTBREAKERS
6 2106 Eric Mendoza 21:11 21:09 5:18 BOSTON MA 33 6/1231 M 3/370 M3039
7 1836 Brendan Prindiville 21:16 21:14 5:19 BOSTON MA 40 7/1231 M 1/290 M4049
8 2928 Harry Norton 21:21 21:18 5:20 SOMERVILLE MA 32 8/1231 M 4/370 M3039
9 2914 Christopher Klucznik 21:21 21:20 5:20 NEEDHAM MA 35 9/1231 M 5/370 M3039 SOMERVILLE ROAD RUNNERS
10 1436 Greg Grosicki 21:24 21:23 5:21 CHARLESTOWN MA 29 10/1231 M 1/181 M2029 DASHING WHIPPETS RUNNING TEAM