Well it’s been a long time since I’ve produced a podcast –
almost 3 months. There are a couple of
reasons for the lack of a show; (1) I’ve been injured and have only run about
five times since RR#14, and (2) I started a new job which has taken up a
lot of my time. The good news for me on
both counts is that the injury (Achilles) is getting better and I’ve been able
to run a little. On the job-front, as I
get more acclimated to the environment, I’m finding everything a little less
stressful.
I should have a new RunningRamblings out shortly. In the meantime, this is just a quick post about
the Kentlands/Lakelands 5K which was held this past Saturday. Since the race is just across the street from
my house, I felt obligated to run. My
injury is at the point where I could do that distance if I was careful, so I
figured, why not?
Over 1,100 5K runners participated on the course that wound
its way through the Kentlands/Lakelands neighborhoods in Gaithersburg, MD, just
outside of Washington, DC. I was rather
surprised that the course was fairly hilly, although it may have just seemed that
way since I’m pretty out of shape cardio-wise.
My goal was to just have a good time and finish. Reinjury is not something I want to happen,
so I wasn’t going to push things. The
race started in waves 1-minute apart. I
figured I would do around an 8-minute mile so I lined up with the second wave
(7-8-min/mile). The first wave was for
elite runners and, while I am not an elite runner; that is where I would have
been if I weren’t injured since my 5K pace would have been 6:30-min/mile or so.
Anyway, the race started without a hitch and the
first mile went by in a quick 6:52.
During that mile, I started talking with a guy who was just getting back
into running after a 5-6 year break. He’s
been back at it for about 6 weeks and is faced with overcoming a sedentary lifestyle
and smoking, which he recently kicked.
Needless to say, he was in pretty good shape for the abuse he put his
body through. His goal was to finish in
21-minutes.
Mile 2 took 7:10 due to some hills (upward inclines) and us
falling into a comfortable pace. It was
during the second mile that my lack of cardio fitness became apparent. However, at the end of mile 2, we were just
around a 21-minute finish. So I decided
to run with this guy as long as I could.
I don’t think he had a watch, so I was pacing him. However, about a quarter mile into the third mile,
I started to get winded. Instead of
dragging this guy down with me, I told him that he was in good shape as long as
I didn’t catch him. I wished him good
luck and concentrated on getting myself across the finish.
Usually I end with a very fast kick. Not this time. It took all I had to finish the final half
mile. I was actually embarrassed for myself,
but I tried keeping things in perspective since I haven’t really been running
much. When I finally saw the balloons
marking the finish, I tried giving one final push but my tank was empty. I lumbered on and crossed the finish to see
the guy I had been running with waiting for me.
We congratulated each other and went our separate ways. I’m hoping he met his goal but I think he may
have been off by 30 seconds or so.
Well here’s how I did: 151 out of 1,180 runners; 23rd
out of 95 in my age group; with a time of 22:27 (7:14 pace). Overall I’m very happy with that and
encouraged that I can still salvage some of my remaining 2008 running goals if I’m
smart about it.
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