Time to renew or refuel, whichever's first

Tuesday, 11/2/10--Henderson. Ladder: 1200-800-400-400-800-1200.

Monday, 11/1/10--3.1 in about 23:30

Sunday, 10/31/10--5.5 in 33:35

Saturday, 10/30/10--CHS Hall of Fame 5K. 18:09.
My family and I arrived at Wilson Park at about 8:10 for the 9 AM race. It was cool and in the 40s. I began my warm-up at 8:20, a little later than I had planned. We ran the first .25 mi as a family. Then my son and I ran another mile before stretching. I followed my usual routine; I didn't warm up quite as extensively as I had discussed in a previous entry. With 10 minutes before the gun, we headed back to the pavilion adjacent the start. Many more people had shown up by then, although by most measures, this 5K race is a modest one.

I lined up with my daughter at the front of the pack. The gun went off. The first part of the race is slightly uphill, then slightly downhill. There were three guys in front of me from the start. I decided to let them get some distance on me, but not too much. I heard the mile shout-out at 5:22, 5:23. I was pretty much on pace; I was hoping for 5:20. The leader must've hit 5:15; the two after him probably came across in 5:18.

As we made the turnaround, I lost a little ground but rebounded. Heading up the hill and appraoching the 2-mile mark, I felt myself inch closer to the two guys closest to me. I passed them going up the hill. I then figured I'd eat away at the lead of the leader. I came within about 75 meters, but then he took off and left me in lah-lah land. As I made the twists and turns over the last .75 of the course, I realized that I would be second and have to settle for a slow time. I came upon the 3 mile mark and then the word "finish," except the finish line was more than 100 meters later. As it turns out, the course was actually 3.17. So my 18:09 translates into about 17:45-17:50, which still a ways off of the sub-17:00 campaign I thought I had forged.

Time to renew or refuel, whichever's first!

10/24-10/30--18.5 miles