Based on the posts this morning, it looks like we all balanced our holiday intake with some fun runs. I did the same with the Hingham 4th of July race. The highlight of that one is always the start. We all gather at the local middle school and reconnect with old friends, classmates and townies. This year, my sis joined us as a surprise visitor from Seattle. She flew in to spend the long weekend.
Despite the family atmosphere of the race, this has never been one that I can just "fun run." I always want to do my best and leave nothing behind on the course. This year was no different.
With 2200 runners, the start is always a slow, zig-zaggy adventure. You're doing well if you emerge from the pack without twisting an ankle, and you always try to make back lost time. Case in point: At the first mile marker, I posted about an 8:40 pace, and I wasn't happy. I turned it on for mile two, posting about a 6:15 -- waayyy too fast. I paid for my launch into hyper speed with a tightened calf. I slowed to a more reasonable 7:13 pace for mile 3 and stopped halfway through it to stretch a bit. Into mile 4, the calf started to loosen up, which reminded me that it generally takes me about 15 - 20 minutes to warm up. I definitely will start doing warm up runs before short races in the future. It's become a necessity. Anyway, by the end of the race, I posted a 33:07 for the 4.6 mile course. I'm happy with the time and with my place in the overall standings. Not sure how it compares to last year. I'll have to look that one up (results are on-line).
So, funny thing happened as I started this post. I rechecked my splits and realized that my first mile was actually a 7:57, which is not bad at all. I must have read my watch wrong because I remember being pissed. I wonder what my mile two would have been like had I read it correctly?
I'm letting my body heal a bit, so I haven't run since the fourth. We're in a heat wave in VT right now. It's supposed to break tomorrow, and that's when I will get out again. A 5-er would be good.
Nice to see us all getting active on the roads and on the blog. Looking forward to our next chance to run together.
Later boys.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Fourth Fun
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Smoking the 6:15! Nice job Speedy.
I remember that you did really well last year.
A 4.6 mile race is a funny distance -- is it related to July 4, 1776?
It must have been good to see your sister and run with her? Did you beat her?
4.6 is based mainly on the course. The middle school is an ideal start and the run ends right in the center of downtown Hingham after a run straight down the length of Main Street. It's pretty much from one border to the water.
It was really cool to see my sis. I didn't end up running with her, which we both discussed prior to the race. She runs the same way I do. She might have all the best intentions of running with a partner, but when the gun goes off, the race is on in her head and she just goes. I do the same, and beat her that day. She did really well though, and beat the other two women in our starting group. It's funny because she wasn't trying to beat anyone, but one of the girls was definitely trying to catch my sis and couldn't close the gap. I love the races between the races.
Post a Comment