Run To Remember

I did a 5K race on Governors Island today called Run To Remember. Quite sad seeing all the race bibs with names of 9/11 victims - especially when it said things like "husband" or "brother".

Took most of the day which is ridiculously inefficient. On the other hand, if I count it as "recreation" of "regen" time, then it is ok. I was up shortly after 5 to get to the city, catch the ferry etc. Did not get home until the evening. Long time for a 20 minute run (well ok - 23:01 but who is counting).

I like 5 K races because they are short enough that I figure I can just about go all out. I approach them like the pomodoro time management system. In that system, you set a timer for 25 minutes figuring that you can do almost anything for 25 minutes. Then take a break. It is more challenging than you think to get 16 heads down "pomodoros" in a day. I bought a cheap timer on Amazon but often just use my Blackberry to time. I blogged on the system before.

Anyways I figure in a 5K, I can always breathe later.

The day was great. Cool to start which I love. Breezy. A bit crowded with 600 runners.

The run started into the wind (come to think of it, it was into the wind for the whole race despite the fact it was a loop). It was tough to set a pace due to crowding. But I tucked in behind a tall guy in a blue shirt who cut through the crowd. He was running too fast for me but he was navigating well, so I stuck to him right through mile 1 which the time clock said was 6:50. I knew that was too fast for me to maintain for 3.1 miles so I eased back a bit.

The runners had spread out a bit so there was no crowd. I did not stop for the water stop figuring why bother for such a short run.

The course was flat. The sun was high but it was cool. Conditions were great.

Mile 2 fell away but I was running at a 7:45 pace - too slow so I picked it up a bit.

The finish was about half a mile straight. You could see the finish so I tried to kick but had little steam left. I even let 2 runners pass me. At 3 miles I kicked a bit.

Finished strong. 7:25/mile average pace. Felt great. I am very thankful I can run.

I finished 3rd in my age picking up a plaque. First time I had done that in a while. It is motivating to me (even though it cost me a day and about $100 by the time you count the entry fee, transportation, lunch etc). But it was worth it.