Race 2 Summary

Today's race was the "Break the Line 5K," which inexplicably had an 8AM starting time. I am really not a morning person, but I hauled myself out of bed at 6 for this thing. I was grateful that it wasn't raining for a change. It's been pouring down rain every morning for what, like a month now? But this morning was warm and even a little humid.

The first surprise of the day was that it turned out I had been training on that course going the wrong direction. So instead of doing a bunch of small climbs and dips over the first 2 miles, it was one big hill for the 1st mile (actually more like the first 1.2 miles), and then climbs and dips from there. From my training runs I expected to finish in about 25 minutes, but with this new twist I wasn't sure what to expect. So I just planned to run 8-minute miles. The second surprise was that the field was very small: 24 runners. So it was again a very hardcore group.

Despite all the stretching and warming up, it still took me a while to get loose and into my rhythm. Did I mention that I am not a morning person? Running a long hill did not help. I finished the first mile in 8:05. Finally I crested that first big hill on Blue Course Drive, and I knew it was a long downhill from there. My legs finally got under me, and I hit a good stride. I crushed the second mile in 7:24, which is my best single-mile time in many years.

The last 1.1 miles was up and down. I was feeling really good, and looking to breeze to the finish. But somewhere in one of those hills I lost my pace. My lungs started feeling heavy and wet. I surmised that this was from the yogurt I ate for breakfast. So here's an important tip for you athletes: avoid dairy before aerobic exercise. I was starting to fade, I could feel myself slowing. My body was telling me to stop. But I knew I was so close. Somehow I found the energy to stretch out my stride for the last quarter mile.

I finished 13th overall, in a time of 24:16, well under my unofficial goal of 24:50 (that's an 8-minute mile pace). I also finished 1st in my age group, which isn't saying much because there were only two people in my age group. But I did get a little wooden medal that I'm sure I will find a place to display.

This is the first race in my 8-day, 3-race plan. Next up is the Black Moshanon 5K, which is Saturday. Then Monday is the Boalsburg Memorial Day 4-mile. I'd better get back to training.

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