Grooved to Run

Decided to switch up my route a little bit today, and headed out of the development:

I was beat today even before I left the house, so I kept my pace nice and slow.

Total was 3.11 miles in 35:13 (11:20/mi pace) with an average speed of 5.3 mph and a max of 7.9 mph. My 1K splits were: 7:13, 7:03, 6:29, 7:30, and 6:56.

Nice weather, new scenery, and a slow pace made this one an enjoyable run.

I put on my Amphipod Full Visibility Vest and did a night run at about 9:30 PM tonight.

Total was 3.11 miles in 31:23 (10:06/mi pace). Average speed was 5.9 mph with a max speed of 7.5 mph. My 1K splits were: 6:22, 6:41, 6:25, 6:05, and 5:48.

I’m glad I waited until the sun went down to run, but it was still about 79 degrees with 66% humidity. By the time I finished I was soaked. Good times.

Yesterday Nate and I ran the Double Creek 5K in Dover…

Race time was 9:30 AM. I arrived around 8:40 AM to sign in and pick up my t-shirt and race packet. I had registered online, so it didn’t take long to get my stuff and pin my bib on. By 9:00 AM, we were both ready to roll:

Unlike the Rocket Run 5K a couple of weeks ago, where I had scouted out the course and done some test runs, this time I had no idea what the course was like. As we lined up near the starting line, I saw the first of a couple small hills. The sun was already heating up, so I knew this might be a tough one. I positioned myself about a third of the way from the front of the pack and got ready.

The guy organizing everyone dropped his arm (no gun) and we were off:

Knowing that I had to make up some time because I started behind the starting line, I tried to set a good pace for the first quarter mile or so. Then it was time to settle into a pace and start the long haul. The turn-around point was a traffic cone in the middle of the road about half way out on the course, followed by a water stand with people handing out cups of water and Gatorade. Then it was time to head back.

The 1K split beeps on my Garmin kept me motivated and going. Before I knew it, I was closing in on the final 1000 meters of the race.

One last push and I was over the finish line.

My official time was 32:17.03 putting me in 87th place out of 118 people. Nate also had a really good run, finishing in 33:58 (98th).

According to my Garmin, I covered 3.20 miles in 32:17 (10:05/mi pace) with an average speed of 5.9 mph and a max of 8.7 mph. My 1K splits were: 5:40, 6:06, 6:33, 6:29, and 6:42.

So, once again I didn’t beat my goal of 30 minutes, but I’m very happy with my run. It was, by far, the hottest weather and the most hills I’ve ever had to deal with. Most importantly, I had a great time doing it. Definitely a lot of fun!

Looks like I’ll be registering for the upcoming Spirit of Gettysburg 5K in July…

My second 5K race begins in about two hours from now… the Dover Double Creek 5K.

Nate will be running this one as well.

Wish me luck.