Later that day, after I'd had a very tired one hour nap on the sofa, I downed a plate of oatmeal and put on my shorts and vest for the first in this years Al Goldstein Prospect Park Track Club 5K series of races.
I initially didn't feel that great, but it was more just tiredness and I managed a good couple of mile jog, mainly to the registration area at the bottom of the park and then another 1/2 mile looking for a toilet 3 minutes before the start! I would've had plenty time but they couldn't find my pre-entry. Turns out I hadn't entered as I thought, it was only the Roosevelt and Riverside Series I had entered, oops.
It was a mildly humid night so I was well warmed up even though it meant running the whole race with annoyingly dry lips. Due to the building work around the new centre there was a slight course alteration where the start was moved further down the hill to the bottom. This meant the first mile, luckily when you're fresh, was a gradual incline all the way before hitting the hill.
The second mile is along the top of the park rolling down into the completely downhill third mile, turning the corner into a nice flat run in to the finish.
It was a little difficult to pace yourself from the start immediately heading uphill but knowing it was just a 5K. I ended up with splits of 6.08, 6.05 and then a 5.41, pulling away from the couple of guys I'd been pacing with thanks to my new found strength, ha ha and finishing in a PB smashing time of 18.24 (@5.56 pace).
The better quality of the 231 runners meant that was good for 9th overall but only 3rd in my age group! Indeed, I ran side by side with an 11 year old for the first mile then watched him finish in 18.59!
I initially didn't feel that great, but it was more just tiredness and I managed a good couple of mile jog, mainly to the registration area at the bottom of the park and then another 1/2 mile looking for a toilet 3 minutes before the start! I would've had plenty time but they couldn't find my pre-entry. Turns out I hadn't entered as I thought, it was only the Roosevelt and Riverside Series I had entered, oops.
It was a mildly humid night so I was well warmed up even though it meant running the whole race with annoyingly dry lips. Due to the building work around the new centre there was a slight course alteration where the start was moved further down the hill to the bottom. This meant the first mile, luckily when you're fresh, was a gradual incline all the way before hitting the hill.
The second mile is along the top of the park rolling down into the completely downhill third mile, turning the corner into a nice flat run in to the finish.
It was a little difficult to pace yourself from the start immediately heading uphill but knowing it was just a 5K. I ended up with splits of 6.08, 6.05 and then a 5.41, pulling away from the couple of guys I'd been pacing with thanks to my new found strength, ha ha and finishing in a PB smashing time of 18.24 (@5.56 pace).
The better quality of the 231 runners meant that was good for 9th overall but only 3rd in my age group! Indeed, I ran side by side with an 11 year old for the first mile then watched him finish in 18.59!
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