2009 St. Malachi 5 Miler

I'm fairly exhausted as I write this. Either that or the cold I'm battling is attempting another incursion. I hope it's the former. I felt pretty bad last night so I took some of Heather's Nyquil. It's not real Nyquil. It's the Target generic form. I like theirs better than the original. So, because I didn't feel 100% last night, I didn't expect much in the way of performance this morning. Maybe that was a good thing.

A good thing because I went out and destroyed my time from last year's race. I also set a new 5 mile PR in the process. The weather wasn't a factor. It was much like last year, only a little bit colder and not as humid. We had upper 20's and a slight wind. There were even some icy/slushy patches along the course like last year. So what was different?

1. I had the cold medicine last night. I woke up, not quite rested, but not in bad shape. I still felt a bit whoo-hoo if you know what I mean. The pre-race anticipation started to hit me, but it was magnified by the medicine so I was a little bouncy this morning.

2. I had a few chocolate covered espresso beans before running. I normally don't consume caffeine so that when I do, it HITS me.

3. Bailey and I ran/walked the 2 mile run together. That was a decent warm-up. Warm-up cardiovascularly (is that a word?) not literally. I was colder at the start of the 5 miler than I would have been had I sat in the car.

4. I knew the course. I knew where the first icy spot was and positioned myself to avoid it. I lined up closer to the front to avoid lining up behind traffic.

Maybe it was those things. Maybe I was just lucky this morning. I don't know.

Heather was running the 2 miler and trying to beat her time from last year. I think she missed it by a little. But she's been sick all week, so she shouldn't be disappointed. Bailey and I also ran the 2 miler. He did it for time, and I did it for a warm-up. He did pretty good for not doing ANY training. Unless you consider playing the Wii to be training, that is. He ran it in 25:27, averaging 12:41 per mile. I kept trying to pace him, but he would run ahead of me too fast, then end up walking. Then he said his knee was bothering him and he was having trouble breathing. So we just walked and ran. The last hill got him pretty good. Or so I thought. He tells me that he might be able to run a little faster to the finish line and the next think I know, he's sprinting away from me. I didn't even try to catch him. I told him that if he had that much left in him, he could have been moving at a little faster pace before the finish. But he did a good job!

I grabbed a couple swigs of water, took off a layer of clothing, and headed back to the start line while Heather and Bailey went back to the car to warm up. I was able to get over the mats at the start without incident and the field began spreading out. I kept to the left and jumped up on the sidewalk when I knew the ice patch was approaching. That first mile is way fast. We drop into the flats and it's ALL downhill.

By my Garmin, I ran a 6:40 mile 1. That would be my fastest mile. Mile 2 flattens out, though we do cross a couple bridges that have elevation gains. I'm showing a 6:47 split for the second mile. Still, not bad! Mile 3 has the first major uphill and it showed with a 7:14 split. I don't think there is anyone who isn't affected by that climb. Mile 4 gets the downhill and a split of 6:38. Mile 5 crosses another two bridges and has the climb to the finish. That hill is a monster. But to have a 6:29 split for that last mile is great. No wonder I was so out of breath after I crossed the finish line!

Now I'm just waiting for the official results to be posted. They should be fairly close to what I'm showing. I curious as to where I placed within my age group. Unofficially, I cut 2:18 from last year's race and :40 from my best 5 mile time.

I'm tired. I would like to take a nap. Maybe I will after I get done finishing things before everyone starts coming over for a little St. Patrick's Day party. Can I get anyone a Conway's?