Saturday, July 16, 2011

8K Race Results!

Hi, everyone!  I ran in a hilly 8K road race this morning, under warm, but not unbearable conditions, with race time temperatures in the mid to upper 70s, and sunny.  This may sound laughably cool to southern readers of this blog, but it's a pretty hot race for us here in Buffalo, NY.  Regardless, this was the 3rd year I've run this particular race (ran in 2008, 2009, and again this year).  In 2009, conditions were much cooler and more comfortable, and I ran 32:43.  This year, I ran 32:26 (about 6:31/mile average), so an overall improvement, especially considering the race conditions.  I was 12th overall this year compared to 14th in 2009, and there about 10 more runners this year, totaling 153.  This race tends to be a bit more competitive than others in the area, with cash prizes of $100, $75, and $50 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd overall male and female, respectively.

I was a distant second in my age group (50 to 54) to a guy who ran 29:09!!!  That is just unbelievable, and makes him close to a national caliber age group runner.  He is certainly one of the top, if not the top in our age group in Metro Buffalo.

Next steps:  keep training hard this summer (and playing tennis), and hope this work pays off in the fall.  Typically, I really don't like to race in summer conditions.  Give me 20 degrees, snow and wind over this weather for racing!

There is a one mile road race late in August, so I'll probably get in another time trial or two on the track before then, and then give that a shot.  It's a pretty good race, certified course, and very competitive.

Mark

Click on title for link to results, or click here.

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