This year was the seventh running of the race for me and this year I didn't have high expectations for this race since I was coming off of a 5K last week that bested my PR by nearly a minute.
But it's a great community event and a nice family outing (little K. ran in the tot trot for the first time last year). Since the in-laws are in town, it was the first time in four years we did not have to run in the race with a stroller.
With typically more than 1,000 people running in the race, the start is nearly always congested on Virginia Avenue.
Somehow when the race started I was able to find an opening and run forward. Because the first part starts downhill there were lots of people in front of me that I wouldn't normally expect to run at a 7-minute-mile pace. But there were.
It seemed like it was no time when we reached the 1.5-mile point. I remember this because I had to stop and tie my shoe when I ran in the race in 2008.
At the second mile I recorded a 7:12 and after the worst of the hills were over with I looked down at my watch and saw I was blowing myself up with a 7:41 pace.
But it helped to know the rest of the course and I ended the third mile at a 7:33 pace. The very end I could feel myself accelerate and finished strongly but not at an impossible pace (5:44/mile).
I finished with my best time on the course in seven tries, 22:35, three seconds better than my then-PR of 22:38 in 2010. Of the 5Ks I've run in with hills this year, this is my fastest time.
Beets: We made the beet and goat cheese salad again the night before and then I had a small amount of beets in the morning with toast less than an hour before the race. I think I ate such a small amount it didn't really have any effect but regardless, my legs felt fine after the hilly race.
Time: 8:02 a.m.
Temp: 70 degrees
Gear: Technical T-shirt, short (Doug Kessler 10K), shorts, Saucony Type A6.
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