Notes
Race day in Roanoke, Virginia! Drumstick Dash! What do you know, another freezing morning! It got down to 23 degrees last night. About 30-32 degrees at the start. One of the coldest mornings in awhile. Mom and Dad came down to be present and to hold my stuff, but Elizabeth and Rita stayed at the house. It was too cold for Rita; she's just too young. I'm about 178 pounds these days, plus/minus a pound or two.
I wore leg warmers, arm warmers, gloves, and headband. I also wore two technical shirts, I figured one layer wasn't going to do it. I was very cold leading up to the race, but I was relatively calm. We arrived at 8:25 for the 9 AM race. The timing was about right, but honestly we could have probably gotten there a bit later. You really don't need much time to warm up and prepare, especially when you're "out of shape".
I spent last evening reading past race entries for this event. My times have gotten slower every year, and each year I complain about how slow I am. So this year I am not going to complain. I'm going to acknowledge that I have other priorities in my life. I love running, but I can't expect top times. All told, I'm happy with my performance today, even if it's the slowest 5k for which I've ever posted a time.
I started at the very end of the first wave. I was literally being pushed forward by the wave behind me, but I wanted to allow room in front to get a good start. As usual, it was incredibly bogged down at the start. I lost 10-20 seconds due to the crowds, but then again, I also ran faster as a result of the people. With so much jockeying for position, you end up running faster than expected. Apparently the colder weather did not keep people away, as there were reportedly 13,000+ in attendance.
My goal was to run 9:30 or so for the first mile. Instead, I ran 8:18...definitely faster than expected, but I also wasn't surprised. However, I felt pretty good, so I kept pushing. I ran the second mile in 7:45...and the second mile includes the brutal hill over the railroad tracks. I didn't let anyone pass me going up the hill, even as many tried!
The course was changed slightly for the third mile. No last brutal hill to get back onto Campbell Avenue. That was a really nice elimination. I ran the third mile in 7:31 or so, meaning negative splits for the race.
Since my goal coming in was 27 minutes, I'm quite proud of 24:27. The winner ran 15:43. Great race in Roanoke!