5 mile run on Sunday November 7.
I have not done much since the marathon 5 weeks ago except mostly easy runs, so I thought I'd see how much fitness I was able to maintain from my summer/fall marathon training. This is a small local race, and the splits were wayyyyy messed up, but I had a good effort.
For the 1st time I can ever remember, I started on the front row. Since there was a 2 mile being run concurrently, I paid no attention to the early burners, and just went out at a hard effort. A fellow master that usually beats me was just ahead of me, as were a bunch runners from the local H.S. cross country teams. The 2 milers split off, and I'm given a mile split of 5:56. That sounds about right. I am in 8th place. I pass 3 H.S. kids before the turnaround (14:00, obviously not 2.5 miles), and start to make my way back. This part of the course is on a trail that I run fairly regularly. We had a whole bunch of rain Saturday, so the course is covered with wet and slippery leaves. Going back we start to feel the WNW wind, and I'm in 6th (the other masters runner passed me). Turns out his H.S. son finished in the place behind me. We did an extra part on the way back that we didn't do going out, so that probably explains the remaining yardage. Start to pass some of the walkers coming in, and no one is really in the way. No one else running is close ahead or behind. Finish in 29:55, which seems about right. 6th overall, 3rd in age group.
I am most likely done with races until spring (Jingle Bell being the lone exception, if I can work out some family scheduling issues). I'm kinda sore and tired, and need to just put in a bunch of long slow mileage....
