... a/k/a Westerly Land Trust 5K
... a/k/a Setting the Pace for Conservation 5K (the real name of the race)
Avondale, RI
Sunday, November 11, 2018
With the demise of the Charlestown Police 5K a few years back, this is now quite possibly the flattest 5K race in the state of RI. There is a mighty 10' climb in the second mile, and that is it. Period. I've run this race a number of years, and as an avid supporter of the Westerly Land Trust, wish more people would show it love, but I get it that not everyone wants to run a 5K road race, and even for those that do run road 5Ks, they are a dime a dozen these days.
After an abysmal 5K late August of 19:56 coming off an injury, followed by 18:43 at Strides 5K in October, I set a goal for myself of 18:30, with the fear that I would embarrass myself at the race. It was at this race that I earned my 5K PR of 17:32 just three years ago, when Tommy helped pull me along and I trailed him by just nine seconds.
After a short warm-up with Shara and Tommy, I toed the line next to Tommy and Aaron Tallardy. After the 1K loop around the farm field, Tommy was pretty much out of sight and Aaron just ahead of me. There really isn't too much to write about beyond that, as the three of us never changed positions, and the 4th guy was quite a ways behind me (although I'm happy for the 4th guy, from Durham, NH, that he realized his goal of first-time ever breaking 20 minutes). At parts during the race, Aaron would increase his gap on me, but in the last half-mile I was able to pull closer. It was neat to have Matthew (home for long Veterans' Day weekend) pass me a few times on his bike and give encouragement.
Aaron was always in my sight, but I could never quite getting close enough, and finished a mere six seconds behind him.
Final results: 18:13, 5:52 pace. 3rd overall. 1st in age group. Full results here.
Tommy won the race in 16:55 and took home a nice spread. I got a nice small holly tree for winning my age group, but what I was happiest about was:
... a/k/a Setting the Pace for Conservation 5K (the real name of the race)
Avondale, RI
Sunday, November 11, 2018
With the demise of the Charlestown Police 5K a few years back, this is now quite possibly the flattest 5K race in the state of RI. There is a mighty 10' climb in the second mile, and that is it. Period. I've run this race a number of years, and as an avid supporter of the Westerly Land Trust, wish more people would show it love, but I get it that not everyone wants to run a 5K road race, and even for those that do run road 5Ks, they are a dime a dozen these days.
After an abysmal 5K late August of 19:56 coming off an injury, followed by 18:43 at Strides 5K in October, I set a goal for myself of 18:30, with the fear that I would embarrass myself at the race. It was at this race that I earned my 5K PR of 17:32 just three years ago, when Tommy helped pull me along and I trailed him by just nine seconds.
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| Start of the race: Aaron leads, followed by Tommy, me, and Mike (from Durham, NH) |
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| Mid-packers bundled up. To each his own, but it really wasn't that cold. |
After a short warm-up with Shara and Tommy, I toed the line next to Tommy and Aaron Tallardy. After the 1K loop around the farm field, Tommy was pretty much out of sight and Aaron just ahead of me. There really isn't too much to write about beyond that, as the three of us never changed positions, and the 4th guy was quite a ways behind me (although I'm happy for the 4th guy, from Durham, NH, that he realized his goal of first-time ever breaking 20 minutes). At parts during the race, Aaron would increase his gap on me, but in the last half-mile I was able to pull closer. It was neat to have Matthew (home for long Veterans' Day weekend) pass me a few times on his bike and give encouragement.
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| Aaron is 2nd at 1K. I'm at about 9 o'clock in this pic. Look at the guy in red jacket right next to Aaron - awkwardly on the course. Reminds me of a certain WHS parent that would frequently and annoyingly stand in the course when runners were coming. |
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| Coming through 1K after Aaron. Red Jacket Guy got right in my way as I was running the tangent, and as spectators yelled, he narrowly got off the course. (Matthew in blue behind me, about to follow on bike) |
Aaron was always in my sight, but I could never quite getting close enough, and finished a mere six seconds behind him.
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| Harried, and poor body form, but finished, and realized my goal! |
Final results: 18:13, 5:52 pace. 3rd overall. 1st in age group. Full results here.
Tommy won the race in 16:55 and took home a nice spread. I got a nice small holly tree for winning my age group, but what I was happiest about was:
- I handily beat my own goal of 18:30.
- Every single split was sub-six minutes! (5:52, 5:56, 5:48)
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| With my holly tree award. Fun day out there, and a confidence builder for me. |
Congrats, Jeff! I've gotta say, you always seem harsh on yourself about your running form. As a running coach and someone that is constantly critiquing runners' form, I love your running form! You've got the power of a middle distance runner and have excellent push off and a big stride without over striding! Feel confident in that form, my friend! If you're worried about your hands, wear gloves on colder days, helps keep them warm and more relaxed. My 2 cents. Wish my athletes could run with effortless power like you do! Kudos
ReplyDeleteThanks Greg! I appreciate your perspective, especially given your deep background and experience that I certainly don't have. I do seem to clench my fists in recent race pics, so maybe light gloves at 40 degrees are worthwhile.
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