Time for one last tune-up race before the NYCM on Nov. 7. The schedule
called for a race of 8-10K, but there weren't any hereabouts -- nearly
a dozen 5Ks though. I decided I'd rather do a 5K and then rerun the
course at MP than do a time trial all by myself or double-run a 5K at
10K pace. I was curious what my 5K time was -- hadn't run one since
April (19:52; PR was 19:45 from a 10K two weeks ago). A friend had
told me the Pumpkin Dash was fast and flat. As an added bonus, my GF
decided to enter and walk/jog the race rather than just hang out and
watch. We drove part of the course beforehand, and it was indeed flat.
Race morning was overcast, mild and fairly humid. I figured I could
get close to 19-flat if I was careful. Last year that would have
gotten me 3rd overall and 1st masters; this year, I looked around at
the start and saw several guys who were probably faster than me,
including one with some white in his beard. Hmm.
Before the start we had the usual three or four 11-year-olds putting
themselves right at the front of the pack. The director had them move
clear over to the side -- Bravo! He explained it by pointing at me and
saying, "That's the meanest runner in town. He loves to run over kids.
You'd have his foot tracks all over your backs." Everyone (including
me) had a laugh.
Off we went. The guy who'd looked the fastest took an early lead,
chased by another fast-looking guy and two teen-agers. I was at the
front of the second chase pack, then several people passed me
including the other over-40 dude. I was at pretty much the pace I
wanted, so I didn't worry much. Soon the other master was part of a
chase group of four, with me a bit behind in 8th or 9th. We circled a
large block, then it was an out-and-back from there through a
residential neighborhood. I picked off a couple of the people who'd
gotten in front of me and focused on maintaining my pace. First mile
in 6:05 -- a few seconds fast but no big deal. I was keeping the older
guy in sight.
Mile 2 I passed most of the other people. I could see that the main
chase pack had broken up, with the fast guy dropping the teen-agers,
who were fading fast. He looked as if he might challenge for the
overall lead. Meanwhile I had my own race. Masters guy was in third
and I pushed up to fourth, then slowly reeled him in. Just before the
turnaround I passed him. Back the other way. There was one fairly
young runner hanging tough, but everyone else was a good distance
back. Mile 2 in 6:05 again. If I can keep this up I'll go under 19 --
wow! I thought if I caught the masters guy I'd be able to drop him,
but he stayed right on me. Somewhere around 2.5 he passed me back. I
was fading a bit -- not much, just enough that I couldn't quite keep
the pace. He steadily opened up about a 6-second lead, and the young
guy was still back there. I saw my GF go by the other way, walking
steadily and looking hale. (She bicycles but hasn't run or walked much
since college. She would finish in about 43 minutes.) I put on a bit
of a charge as the 3 marker approached. 6:10 third mile -- oh well.
Now turn a corner and try to find a sprint. I can see the clock in the
mid-18s, so I'm probably going to get under 19. People beside the
course start cheering for someone behind me, so I know the youngster
is putting on a sprint. Well, good for him if he passes me. He does.
But I'm still across the line in 18:57, about as good a time as I
hoped for. Woo hoo! 5th OA, 1st AG. The masters winner had about an
18:48.
About the only thing I wished I'd done better was to remember to put
on a Breathe-Right strip -- I've had some good workouts with them
lately, including last week's 10K PR at the end of a long training
run, and I wondered what it'd do for me today. Eh, next time. I ran
the course a second time, shooting for MP, though I was a bit slower
-- still had a lot of lactic acid in my muscles since I pretty much
headed right out again.
Traffic control was pretty good. Post-race food was donuts, breakfast
tacos, pastries, water and soda; one booth advertised "free coffee"
but there was none by the time we got over there. They had a
neighborhood festival going on at the same time, with costume contests
(adult, kids and dogs, I think -- I saw a guy running in a mummy
costume) and dog agility demonstrations plus a Frisbee dog show, and
booths and kid carnival-type games, which, like the race, benefited
stroke research. It was fun watching the dogs do their thing. Extra
points for an alert RD at the start.
Three and a half stars. Brian Bob says check it out.
--
Brian P. Baresch
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
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If you're going through hell, keep going. --Winston Churchill