Sunday, 4/23/2017: 2 runs of 0.9 and 3.1 miles, 46F, 71% RH, 8 mph WSW wind, wind chill 42F, sunny.
Today's race was my second River Run 5K. It has been a GRTC Runner of the Year (RROY) race for the past two years. I ran it in 22:36 last year. I tried to set my alarm for 6:55 AM since the race start was a leisurely 10 AM. Well ... I forgot to move the hour digit and woke up at 5:55 AM instead. I hadn't gone to sleep until 1 AM so I laid in bed for a while. I used my Samsung Health app to take my resting heart rate ... 43. I got up around 6:45 AM when the sun started to peek into my eyes.
I had my usual pre-race bowl of cereal and banana while I checked out Facebook and my email. It was a bit chilly so I wore my green Brooks shorts, an orange long sleeve tech. I brought my yellow Brooks jacket for warmth. I also packed a few shirts to change into and an assortment of running gloves. Gotta be prepared, you know. I got down to the InterCampus parking lot on the U of R campus around 9 AM. I picked up my bib and a swanky black long sleeve tech shirt. Gotta love the races that give out tech shirts ... especially long sleeve!
I met up with Prem Kumar who was just freshly home for a family vacation at Disney World in Orlando. He remarked about my upcoming race conflict on Sunday. I signed up for my third Fleet Feet Four Season Challenge way back in November and the second race is the Flower City Half on this Sunday, 4/30. Well ... I didn't check my race calendar when I signed up for this great deal, $26.20(!), on the Hall of Fame Marathon in Canton OH ... on 4/30. Well .. when I signed up I thought that the Flower City Half was 4/23 (like last year) not 4/30. I can't afford to go out and stay overnight in OH so I made the decision to race local on Sunday. I'm a bit peeved at myself for pulling the trigger on the HOFM but what can you do?
Anyway ... I got out a nice and easy warmup run of 0.9 mile at around 9:00 pace, link here. I lined up for the start. Prem warned me to look out for potholes. The winter had not been kind to the roads of Genesee Valley Park. I lined up next the front and off to the right ... like usual.
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| A calm moment before the start ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthew of https://runnerpics.shutterfly.com |
And ... we were off! I'm not a fan of uphill starts but I got up to speed quickly. It was a 5K with a fast crowd so I settled in at a fast pace. I'm not as fast as I used to be but I can still bring it. A 5K is just a controlled sprint: mile 1 is getting your breathing right and getting out to a fast pace, mile 2 is trying to hold that pace and mile 3 is sucking it up and getting it done. This course was a bit challenging because it was a bit twisty and we had to cross 4 bridges as we ran around Genesee Valley Park.
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| Just after the start, Bill and Prem are ahead of me ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shutterfly.com |
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| About a 1/2 in ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shutterfly.com |
I ambled over to the pavilon and tackled the post-race grub. I chose a couple of bananas and an apple. I looked at the results and saw that I officially finished in 21:56, 35th out of 790 and 7th out of 65 in my wide M 50-59 age group, link here. A bit faster than last year's 22:36. I looked closer and figured out that I was 4th in my M 55-59 age group so I should pick up 7 RROY points. I didn't stick around for the awards and went straight home.
Later, my lovely wife and I went out to Palmyra to see my daughter, Karen. Then it was back home where Christine crashed for the evening and left me to my own devices for the evening. I watched some Star Trek: Voyager episodes off of the DVR and had a sandwich and potato chips for supper. I didn't see the leftover pasta which might have been a better choice, lol.
Monday, 4/24/2017: Rest day ... it's a Monday.
Tuesday, 4/25/2017: 7.05 miles, 54:19, 7:41 pace, 52F, 82% RH, 10 mph SE wind, light sprinkles
The forecast was for light rain until around lunch time. I could have waited until after work to run but I have gotten used to running before lunch. It gets me out on time after work and home sooner if I need to make a grocery run. It was sprinkling (OK ... a light rain) when I went out to get my running stuff ... but no matter. I questioned myself when I was getting ready and when I first went outside ... but I was out there so I went. I struck up a pace that was a bit above nice and ready. I always seem to run a bit quicker when it's raining. It had almost stopped raining by the time I got done. My splits were: 7:50, 7:37, 7:38, 7:50, 7:46, 7:54 and 7:23.
Wednesday, 4/26/2017: Rest day ... some R&R put a pep in my step!
Thursday, 4/27/2017: 7.05 miles, 56:30, 8:01 pace, 77F, 54% RH, 10 mph S wind, mostly cloudy.
The temperature hit the mid 70s before noon so I made sure that I brought my running gear to work so I could take advantage of it. It was a bit warm so I set up a nice and easy pace. But ... my nice and easy pace must be getting faster because it was still a 8:01 pace. I was drenched with sweat when I got done. My splits were: 8:09, 7:48, 7:59, 8:13, 8:03, 8:09 and 7:45. It got even warmer in the afternoon ... 86F which tied a record. But ... the warm weather was short lived and back down to the 50s and rain by midnight.
Friday, 4/28/2017 and Saturday, 4/29/2017: Rest days.
I rested the two days before the Flower City Half. I wanted to get some stuff done in the basement on Saturday but settled for doing 5 loads of laundry. I visualized the Flower City Half course and how I wanted to run it before I went to bed at 11 PM.
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