This race was in Salisbury, MA, about 8 miles south of home in NH, and on the ocean. The course is pancake-flat. We had fresh snow, but the roads were quite wet, but clear of snow and slush, for the most part. It was about 30 degrees with almost no wind, so conditions were close to perfect. There was a 10K going at the same time as the 5K, and it was 2 loops of the 5K course. I had only done one race, another 5K since the summer, so my goals were to walk a decent race, hopefully with consistent but negative splits. I'd be happy if I finished in under 32 minutes, but not all that disappointed or surprised if I didn't. FR: black tights, white long-sleeve tech shirt, gloves, blue baseball cap, and Asics Hyperspeeds.

The race started at 11:45, giving people time to sober up after their New Year's Eve partying. I started not too far back in the pack of about 525 people, and off to the side to avoid the huge puddle right in the middle of the start line. I spent most of the first mile settling into my pace and going through my mental checklist of technique/form reminders. Split - 10:21. The second mile, I started to target people that I wanted to try to pass, or at least keep pace with. This was where we did a short turn-around loop on some small side streets, including cutting across someone's yard because the street was completely flooded. Split - 10:23. Mile 3 was almost a straight shot back toward the finish on a relatively clear road. This was where I caught sight of a woman racewalker heading in the other direction who was fluid, fast, and familiar. I tried to pick up my pace to see how long I could go before she passed me, as I knew she would. About 5-7 minutes later she came by, leaving me looking like I was out for a Sunday stroll. I knew it was Joanne Dow, the only US female racewalker to make it to the last Olympics - cool (she finished the 10K in 47:37 at a 7:40 pace). My 3-mile pace - 10:19. Unfortunately, the line in the finish chute extended back past the finish line, so we had to stop about 10 yards short of the finish - bummer! So I stopped my watch when I came to a stop, at 31:14. My official time, including crawling those last 10 yards, was 32:25. I like my time better!

All in all, it was a decent race for an old fart, and a good start to what I hope will be a good racing year.

Jay

Nice race, Jay.  You did just about what you set out to do.  Congratulations.  That Joanne Dow sounds impressive.  Her 10K race walk pace was much faster than my best 5K running pace.

TomS