Saturday, May 19th, 2012

10 miles. Bedford 12k. Stop #3 on the 2012 USATF-NE Grand Prix.
So, 2nd race since September. Got there early, after spending the night at the oldest motel in Southern New Hampshire (or at least the mattress was,) and got to see all the usual suspects. So great to see everyone.
Warmed up with Steve Dowsett and then went to the line. Gun went off and I felt pretty good. I still wasn't sure how the leg would hold up, but the pace going out felt manageable and I went through 1 in 5:11 and felt easy. It wasn't long before I began to realize that be it from the bronchitis or the overall lack of strength, the effort that gave me the 5:11 would transform and soon give me a 5:24 and then a 5:31.
Regardless, I stayed strong and never got weak, as in years past, where even though I finished with a better time, I squandered the fitness I had by going hard early and falling apart on the long ascents on the 2nd half. This time, I didn't exactly burn them, but I held up and recovered well.
Kept everything @ 5:30 or so and the last mile was my slowest, where I hit 5:42 and just had to be OK with it, as I ran all of 4.5 miles last week and couldn't believe I even had the strength to run as well as I was.
Hit the track and tried to keep Jose in sight and passed Benjamin Ndaya fast. Came in 40:52 for a 5:29 pace and really couldn't be happier with it. Slow time, historically, but it just felt so great to be back.
Found out later I came in 2nd Master  (behind Joseph Koech, again) and 27th overall. It's a tough course and without any real distance training this winter, I have to be happy with that.
The team held strong with a 3rd place finish and we did well enough to keep ourselves within striking distance of CMS. We just need to get our healthy fast dudes back. Still, so great to see the comebacks (Reno) and the awesome performances (Brandon and Paul Hammond.)
Likely taking next weekend off from racing and then doing the Provincetown 10k, as Ptown is one of the only places on the Cape I've never run a race, much less won one. Should be fun.