Rob S.

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I ran a slow 31' 5k today.   This was my first cross-country run (and probably my last).  The race was held at Brandywine Creek State Park.  It was grueling, cold, muddy, and wet.  There were so many hills that I felt like I was on a broken escalator the entire race.  The downhill stretches were worse than the uphill, since you had to be so careful about not tripping on stones or tree roots.  I knew I was in trouble when all of the other runners were wondering whether they had the right spikes on for the run.  Spikes, are you kidding?   Think I will stick to the street races from now on.  

This was my Thanksgiving day race!  A cold morning running a chill through my whole body.  I think I was the only runner out there not wearing tights.   About 800 runners started the race, and 600 finished.  The first mile took us from the Central YMCA into the heart of Wilmington and down to the Brandywine River.  I ran the first two mile at my 5k pace, so I was tuckered out when we hit the first big hill along the river.  I walked about 20 yards to get my breath, and then struggled to get to the top of the hill.  When I got to Rockford Park tower I was exhausted but figured with a little water at the aid station I could pick up my pace.  I proceeded to run fairly well to the turnaround at PMRI, but realized I needed to pick up my pace.  I ran fairly well for the next mile and decided to keep the pace to the finish.  When a pack of runners came up to me with less than a k left, I decided to lay it all on the line.  With arms flopping and legs driving, I picked it up an crossed the finish line in 59:08 (9'33"/mile)   Not bad. 435 out of 650 runners who finished.   I was pretty excited to finish and know that I need to do some additional training on the hills if we want to get some additional distance under the belt..

One thing for sure, I have earned my Thanksgiving dinner!

This was a tiring race, but nice and flat.  I went out fast and finished in 27:54 (or 8:57 per mile).  The 2nd mile is still causing me problems and I don't seem to get my rhythm correct.  Running along the river on the boardwalk is nice but I think it distracts me a little when I am running.   I felt pretty good after running the 10k last week.

My first 10k!
The morning started out strange.  I woke up and had my normal breakfast of oatmud and got dressed and out the door so I could drive up to Philadelphia and get across the Ben Franklin Bridge before they closed it for race.
So driving up there I started to get these feelings of apprehension.  I even started doubting that I could do this race.  I got to Campbell's Field around 7:15am and picked up my registration packet.  There were tons of people milling around.  I headed back to the car to do the final prep before the race, attaching the chip to my shoes, setting up my ipod, and deciding whether to wear my running jacket or not.  I decided to stick with a long-sleeve shirt and sweats since it was so cold.   All of the decisions helped me to forget about whether or not I could finish the race.  I went back inside for the stadium and talked to a bunch of people who were joking about the fact that they didn't want to be in the front of the pack so they didn't have to follow directions.  So twenty minutes before the start, we find out that we have to walk about a mile to the start.  
I got lined up with about 1,000 people in front of me.  The starting gun went off and nothing happened.  Nobody moved.  I could see runners going up the bridge, but we weren't moving.  Then all of the sudden we broke into a jog and stopped again.  It took almost two minutes to get to across the starting pad.   The first mile was tough going because it was hard to work around a lot of the slow joggers, especially the kids.  They are so inconsistent when they run, I'm always afraid I'll run them over.  I found a good location on the far left to run and got into a good stride.  At the one-mile mark, the sign read 10:30.  I couldn't feel too bad since the start was so slow, so I kept up my pace.
At the bridge turnaround, there was quite a crowd, and a lot people decided to walk back up the bridge, so it made for a lot of traffic.  I jogged up the bridge and hooked onto couple of good pace runners.  I crossed the 2 mile mark at 20:00 heading down the hill.  We got off the bridge and had another 1/2 mile before we turned off the expressway and into the city of Camden.  I crossed the 5k mark at 28'20" and knew that I needed to slow my pace a bit.  The volunteers at the water stand were fighting a losing battle to have water available to the masses.  I grabbed a quick drink, walked for about 10 seconds, and got back into a jog.  My hamstrings were not happy with the change of pace, and started pounding.  It took about three city blocks before I felt comfortable again.  I crossed the 4 mile mark at 39'.   I sort of gave up on my time at this point and just wanted to finish the race.
The next mile offered sorts of unique challenges.  The terrain consisted of about 1/2 miles of gravel paths and bad roads.  I kept plugging away and I kept telling myself that I should break down and walk, but then I convinced my feet to keep taking the next step.  We went down Batteleship Lane at the 5 mile mark, and ran next to a battleship on the river.  It was 50'30 at the 5 mile mark.  I was really dragging at this point, sweating bullets, and feeling downright uncomfortable.  I was getting passed by more people than I was passing and was resigned to just finish this race.
But then I saw the stadium and realized I was going to finish the race.  I started to extend my stride and pick up the pace.  One little stretch of gravel, and then a couple of jaunts around the stadium and then I was inside running for the finish line.  I could see the clock and knew that I couldn't beat the one hour mark but that I could still beat 1 hour 2 minutes but I needed to haul my butt across the finish line.  I ran past about twenty runners, who had passed me about five minutes prior, and crossed the finish line in 1 hour 1 minute and 45 seconds.   I felt exhillirated , exhausted, and overjoyed.   I found out that the chip time was two minutes less, putting me in at 59'45".  For my first 10k I could not ask for anything better.  I stayed around for the awards, and ending up getting a medal for best first-timer in the 50-55 age group.   I drank a lot water after that to get hydrated.   I was surprised that I was not sore in the afternoon, or even the next day.
My plan now is to run two 5k races over the next two weekends, and then hit the 10k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day.
Somehow I need to also get the gumption up for a 10-miler this year before it gets too cold.  March is coming soon, and I have to start strategizing to run the half-marathon.  Boy does that seem like a dream at the moment.  But I never thought I could run a 5k until a few years ago.