Today was the York Days 5k, the 4th race in the Seacoast Race Series.
I had a good racing week, doing the Whitaker Woods trail race in 19:00, my all time best on that course, on Tuesday. Thanks to Steve P. for dragging me along (where have you been all summer?)
Alex continued a string of personal bests with a 26:04, and Nick was a few seconds off his PR (22:23) and Melissa still has yet to have a good race, as she really needs someone fast to run with to have a good one.
After taking Wednesday easy and the next two days off, we all trekked up to Lancaster, NH, for the Street Fair 5k.
A few years ago I was the first overall finisher with a 17:55. So when the race started and I found myself in 20th place, I was slightly unnerved. I came through in 5:35 (exactly what I wanted) but the rest probably didn't help as much as some easy running would have. I died after passing a whole bunch of kids, but I did make it to the top 10. Kemp S. (17:44) passed me and dragged me through for a while, and I finished up in 17:54 (which turns out to be my best on this course).
Alex PR'ed again with 23:28, Nick broke 21:00 and Melissa had a much better race, although I didn't get her finishing time (probably 28:00 or so). X-C practice starts in two weeks, so the boys will be "training" for real soon. They will certainly hack off the seconds once they start running regularly.
Coming back for the double today, my hip was pretty sore. I had to get up at 5am to get to the race, and the first step out of bed was almost enough to put me right back into bed. Internal rotation on my fully extended hip and knee reproduced my usual hip pain, and it was sharp! I considered bagging, but grabbed a shower and some tylenol and went ahead with the drive.
Once the race started, I was fine. Well, my hip was fine. I didn't get my mile split on purpose, but after the fact discovered it was 5:35, same as yesterday (GPS watches are cool). By the second mile, I felt horrible, yesterday's race haunting my legs. Somehow I came through 3 miles in 17:25, and posted a 28 second last 0.1 (it's good to have 800m speed) nearly catching Adam M. and Phil E. The 17:53 was my best 5k since the Irish Rover (3/6/10; 17:51), so I am heading the right direction again. Since I felt horrible and doubled back, I am pretty sure I can go faster still.
I finished up 14th, and 5th in the 40's age division. Several good runners in the Seacoast Series just turned 40 this year (like Mike G -- good race!!) so my division just got a lot tougher! Last year, I would have won the age division; this year, I am struggling to stay in the top 5 in my age group for the series.
I will see everyone at Saunders (Nick is coming too -- although he is bummed there is no 12&under division).
This week I will continue to focus on core training (AM and PM pushups/inclined situps/circuit) hit the Tuesday race again (hopefully break 19:00 in the last race of this year's series) and try to catch one 10 miler (probably Wednesday, as the usual Sunday long run was displaced by a second 5k race). The following week includes the Madison 5k, and Cigna on Thursday, which is one of my favorites.
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Darin
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