February 29, Saturday, Race Day

Well, I was the oldest guy in the race of 420 runners. I finished 67th overall. I was second in the 70 + division which had an amazing number of 14 runners  all of whom were younger than me.  The winner was a repeat from last year, a 71 year old guy from Michigan who ran 24:22. That’s pretty good. But my time of 26:48 was a personal-best 5K and made me very happy. I finished the race with no body aches or complaints.  Below are some thoughts on the race.

I felt well rested and ready after a very light week. As I warmed up I still worried about my decision to hit mile two as hard as possible.  I joked with Arlene about “going in the Black Box.”  I was relaxed as the race began and was running at a relaxed 8:30 pace maybe for too long. Eventually I picked up the pace and finished mile one feeling pretty comfortable at 8:09. I summoned the courage to push mile 2 for an 8:13 outcome. The math was good, 16:22 for 2 miles. It seemed like I had a chance to break 26 minutes if I could sustain a solid pace through mile number three.  I wasn’t in distress, and I thought the pace was holding up.   But it had slipped to 9:13. I can’t say I actually went in a Black Box, but I also don’t think I punked out. During the final 600m I felt like I was just about hanging on. When I crossed the finish line and the clock was still reading under 27 minutes, I was delighted!!  I was breathless and a little unsteady past Finish Line but I recovered quickly. Thankfully, throughout the race and afterward my body showed no signs of injury.  I hope I can say the same tomorrow. All in all this positive step forward makes me believe that that elusive 25-minute mark may be attainable for this old guy. Keep working.