Jamaco River Run 5k

 I ran a 5k in Merrimac, MA today. Usually I go for the longer distances in my races but I thought I'd try a 5k for once (other than the D5K). I've discovered that since I can't put in the training miles I used to, running the longer races wipes me out for days. Hopefully the 5K will have a quicker recovery.

The Jamaco River Run course is medium hard, rolling with one major hill at the halfway point. The first mile has more downhill than uphill. I had done a good warmup so I was moving on that first mile, a 7:39 which the fastest mile I've run in a long time. I gave it all back on the second mile, however, which includes that long steep hill. Also the race start was at 10:00 AM on a hot day, so by the time I got to the top of the hill I was pretty spent. I never really did get my breathing back under control for the rest of the way.

Summer Sizzler 5k

I ran the Summer Sizzler 5k at Danvers High today. It was quite hot - in the 80's - and the course was up and down the rail trail, but it was fun and I ran a decent race. I finished officially in 25:00.9.

Shiny New 5k PR

I found out one thing last night - the increased training pace I've been running with Marianne isn't hurting my shorter races. I PR'd the 5k by 9 seconds at the weekly Danvers D5K fun run, dropping my PR to 21:39.

Five of us from the D5K will be running the Harborside Half on the 15th. This should be a lot of fun as we are all in the same ballpark time-wise for the half, and there is some friendly competition growing. Hopefully my new-found speed will at least allow me to put a scare in some people!

5k PR

My knees felt good last night, so I went for it at the weekly Danvers 5K and tried for my first sub 22 5K (well, at least since I was a young man!) I made it and set a PR with a 21:48 finish. But I still couldn't catch Ethan who also lowered his time with a 21:33. A good night followed up with the usual good time at Osborn Tavern.

Danvers 5k

I finally decided to run a 5k for time last night. Since Wednesday is typically my day for a longer midweek run, and I take miles to warm up, I decided to run 4 miles then run the 5k race as fast as I could. It looks like that approach paid off, as I ran the 5k in 22:06, getting close to a 7 minute mile pace. After the race I added a slow mile for good measure to get to 8 miles for the day. Ethan and Ellen ran the race as well, Ethan beating me by 2 seconds and Ellen finishing in 25:xx.

Afterwards, beer at Osborn tavern.

Air Force Association Veterans 10k and 5k

The Hal Higdon Marathon training plan for this week has a day of rest on Saturday and a Half Marathon race on Sunday. Not being interested in running another half marathon race at this point, I substituted a 10k race today and I'll do an easy 10 miler tomorrow morning.

 

There is a nice 10k event this weekend in Bedford, the Air Force Association Veterans Fun Run that starts and finishes at the VA facility in Bedford. It's a fund raiser for the AFA so I thought it would be a worthy event in which to participate. I was happy to hear that Ellen was willing to join me running the 5k, so I picked her up at school Friday afternoon (Tricia was gracious enough to bring her back this afternoon). Here are Ellen and me prior to the start:

I thought I would "represent" the Marine Corps at the race so I wore my hat. There were a lot of people running in Air Force gear (naturally) and a few in Army wear. There were one or two others sporting the Eagle, Globe and Anchor of the USMC. Here are the flags set up at the finish line...

 My goal at the North Andover 10k in July was to break 50 minutes. I almost reached it in that race, running a 50:19. This time, 15 pounds lighter, I would be disappointed if I wasn't able to improve that time enough to get under 50. The race time temperature was in the high 30's, which didn't bode too well as I don't seem to be a good cold weather runner. The course isn't easy either, consisting mostly of rolling hills. But I ran the first mile in 8:28, which was a good sign as I have generally been in the 9:30 range for the first mile or two. I ran the first 5k in 25 minutes and change, which put me within striking distance of 50 minutes. About the 4th mile I really settled in and was able to increase my pace, finishing in 49:07 for an average pace of 7:55 per mile. I was happy to see that I negative split the second 5k in something less than 24 minutes, and got under an 8 minute average pace for the first time. Ellen did a 28:28 for the 5k, not her best but then she had a chest cold and ran anyway.

Here is Ellen finishing the 5k...

And here I am finishing the 10k...

The First Race - 5k

The family of Colleen Ritzer, a Danvers High School teacher slain in the Fall of 2013 by a student, organized a 5k race to benefit the scholarship established in Colleen's name. Along with many other Danvers residents, I signed up for the 5k, my first race since the 5 miler in June 2012.

The race was preceded by a moving tribute to Colleen by the Ritzer family. I managed to finish the race in good form...