Wishing good luck to the weekend racers.
"Champions are everywhere; all you need is to train them properly..." ~Arthur Lydiard
The Fox Point 5-miler is a 5:00PM race, which is an unusual time for a race start, but that is part of what makes it unique. The course has constant gently-rolling hills, and wanders through the village of Newington, NH, which is surprisingly rural, being just outside of the small city of Portsmouth. It was a nice day till about 4:10, when the skies opened up and it poured for about half an hour. Thankfully, the rains stopped and we were left with partly cloudy skies and muggy temps in the mid-upper 60s at race time. I wore black shorts, my blue USATF Racewalking shirt, an orange cap, and my Topo ST2s. I passed 2 other walkers in the first half mile or so, and then just focused on keeping what felt like a steady pace the rest of the way. Someone was calling out the times at the 1-mile mark (I was at about 10:40, based on gun time). There were mile markers, but no splits clocks, and I never looked at my watch, so I didn't know my pace after I passed the first mile. I finished in 52:25, which was :20 slower than last year, but fast enough to beat the other racewalkers who showed up this year. I don't think I had enough spring in my stride, probably because of a weak toe push-off at the end of each stride, and that may account for the slowdown vs. last year. I also know that I'm just not as fast as I used to be, but I still have fun chasing my previous times at any race. I took home $50 and a knit cap. The envelope that the check was in was decorated by an elementary school student, and is incredibly cute, and completely appropriate, given that the race is a fundraiser for the local school system.
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
Labrat
Have a Nice Day 5k: A Salute to the 70s
A salute to the 70s was a small local race. ~150 runners and walkers, but knowing the course to be flat and fast and it was just a few miles away from the house, got me signed up. Wind was just picking up a touch, but nothing compared to what will come.
Got there at 6pm and grabbed my bib and shirt, then ran the most of the course as a warm-up and recce. This gave me my race plan. we start on the road, I wanted to hit the turn to the main portion on the multi-use trail in the top few spots, then just push push push until I could push no more. A couple of guys were feeling out the competition and trying to gauge where people were going to be. The eventual winner was open in the fact he was pushing for a sub 18 time (he eventually ran 18:02) basically to help the RD with the lead bike pacing. I didn't hide my sub-21 goal either, knowing that I wanted a low 20's time.
Lined up and just after 7pm the countdown began. The future winner set a blistering pace, and I wanted to keep up with him until the turn. Made the turn in 2nd place, and then shortly after was passed by a HS X-country guy. The route took us for a full lap round the soccer fields, then another half loop to get onto the riverside trail. Up and over the bridge I was on the shoulder of the HS guy, and attacked him on the gentle slope down off the bridge managing to get a gap, which built up for the next two miles.
Ran past the water stop without pausing, and then it was into Heritage Park for a full loop round that. The leader was barely in sight so I was trying to just gut it out and keep my pace high, a couple of turns i could see the HS guy close, but being gapped. Back onto the riverside trail (and past the water stop) I kept pushing as hard as I could, but I could feel my legs losing power a little. HS guy was catching slowly.
Up and over off the bridge again, I again attacked on the downslope and pushed the gap out again, but my pursuer was determined. The same turn we made to get onto the trail, was sharp (>90 degrees) and I almost slipped on a bit of loose sand, but that was about a quarter mile to the finish, so now was the time to open up and really really go. I was pushing as hard as I could and could hear my pursuer making ground but struggling. With about 50 yards to go he was right on my shoulder, and we had a literal all out sprint. Despite his advantage of youth, i had paced a little better he had down too much in the last mile, and I managed to hold him off by a few inches.
Didn't get my watch stopped in time, so wasn't sure of the exact finish time until it was posted, but knew I was sub 20:30.
I knew I was 2nd overall by those few inches, and had won my AG. Overall winner got a lava lamp I just got a medal, but also the satisfaction of kicking the ass of a guy young enough to be my son in a sprint. (Turns out he was a freshman at HS, he will not doubt be able to kick mine by this time next year).
Official results posted up quickly, and my time was 20:23. I enjoyed some music and the costume contest, before collecting my award and heading home.
https://www.runningahead.com/logs/2d4d1dc5e0d741e4b4ec63e05a007473/workouts/c0e9ca677c9c417e9b71a246f4d74390#map
5K 20:23 (Vdot 48.7) 9/9/17
10K 44:06 (Vdot 46.3) 3/11/17
HM 1:33:48 (Vdot 48.6) 11/11/17
FM 4:13:43 (Vdot 35.4) 3/4/18
Marathon Maniac #957
Jay - 5pm is a tough time for a race start, especially in the summer, but well done and cool winnings!
Catwhoorg - 2nd overall and 1st AG - well done! Too bad about the lava lamp, though...
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."