Good Times 5K of Lowell MA

1

Smuttynose Half Marathon...Hampton,NH (Read 301 times)

    Finished with "official" time of 1:27:08 (16th overall , 2nd AG)

    Garmin had me running 6:33 pace for 13.3 miles which would be 1:25:49. It's a great course, but I hope they get it certified and fix the distance..almost a 1/4 mile long is a bit much. I would have thought it was just my garmin but I have seen a bunch of others post that they got 13.3 or even longer.

     

    Race notes:

     

    I wasn't sure what to expect as this was my firt HM. Forced myself to go out slow for the first couple of miles. Started to pick it up a bit just after mile 3. My legs were still feeling fatigue from last weekends relay at Lake Winnie. They were achey most of the race. Just after mile 8 we reached the ocean and the largest hill. Then it was a straight shot down the coast to the finish. I slowly started to reel people in. I finally caught the last guy with a big surge just after the 12.5 mile mark. I paid for it and started fading. I ended up getting caught by 2 people within the last 0.2 miles. Sucks since one of the guys beat me for first in AG. I'm still pretty excited finishing 16 OA and 2 AG for my first race over 5 miles.

      I agree with your distance comment. My Garmin had the course at 13.45 miles. I started to notice the difference in distance after the first few miles markers.

       

      It is a nice course, and while not exactly "flat" as advertised, the nice downhills made up for it.

       

      I hit my goal of sub 2 hours. I hit 1:55:26. (1:52:10 at 13.1 according to the Garmin). It's a little tough to walk down stairs this morning.

      upcoming races:

        Nice job hitting your goal. I just noticed on the results page that the course is USATF certified...very surprising considering the distance discrepency..se la vi

          Awesome job!! http://www.coolrunning.com/results/09/nh/Oct4_Smutty_set1.shtml

           

          The winner (Dan V.) was a co-worker of mine. He won Maine Marathon last year while setting a new course record there too!

           

          Some tough runners at this race! Will have to check it out next year.

           

          Great job!!


            I'm still pretty excited finishing 16 OA and 2 AG for my first race over 5 miles.

             

            Don't know how this one snuck by me, that is a fantastic result Eric.  Congrats!  You're on a roll, find a 5K in the next couple of weeks and I bet you crush your PR.

             

            You have to be very careful about trusting a Garmin, it is just an approximation and the variance can grow with the race distance.  The time is very accurate but you can be in for a very rude awakening when Garmin says you have completed the distance but you have to run for another minute or two. 

            E.J.
            Greater Lowell Road Runners
            Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

            May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

              Thanks Ed....and good luck to you in your marathon this weekend...you should kill your PR based on your races this year.

               

              No 5k's for me until Thanksgiving...I still have one more target race. The 13k Tower of Terror race at Disney World on Oct 24th.

               

               

              I rarely even look at my Garmin while I'm racing. I looked at the mile markers since they didn't have any clocks on the course. I had assumed that the distance was correct until I finished the race and started to scroll through the mile splits and then looked at the overall distance...Even then, I assumed my Garmin was off until I read a bunch of posts from other people saying they all got 13.3 or more...I know it isn't perfect but it is usually pretty close...almost a 1/4 of a mile isn't close.

              evtish


                Great race Eric!

                I can barely hold that pace for a 5k.

                You're at the next level.

                  Thanks Tom....I've been a mileage whore all summer so it's nice to see it pay off...

                   

                  Good luck at the Bobby Bell


                  Food, Folks, Fun, Beer

                    I did a terrible 2:37.  But I was only expecting a terrible 2:45.  At least I'm back to the 13.1 distance after almost a year.