Reindeer Run 5K 2008: mad scramble in 50 to 54 age group!

The long-awaited Reindeer Run finally took place today, under rather cool conditions (low 20s), and windy (10 to 15 mph), resulting in wind chills in the teens. It snowed last night, but they actually plowed the cemetery, allowing for reasonable traction for most of the race, with only a few black ice areas. I prefaced the article with the weather conditions to create a bit of sympathy for my time, which was about 30 seconds less than what I was expecting. I ran 19:50, or about 6:24 per mile, when I was hoping to beat last year's time of 19:28, which occurred under similar
(I'm on the right a couple rows back, beige long sleeves, black hat)

weather conditions, and snowier roads.

The good news was that I placed better than last year: 15th overall out of 456 runners (and joggers/walkers), and 1st out of 42 runners in the 50 to 54 age group. .



I followed my usual strategy of running conservatively the first mile, so that I wouldn't feel lousy at the mile mark. I hit the mile at 6:23, the 2-mile at 12:50 (so 6:27 for the 2nd mile), and then 19:50 at the end (about 6:22 or so for the final mile).

During the final 1/2 mile, I passed several runners, including the guy that took 2nd in my age group (beat him by a scant 3 seconds, and 3rd in the age group was 1 second behind him). Really quite the epic battle for the top 3 spots (hardware spots) in this age group. (I'm in the beige long sleeves, the leftmost in the group of 3, black tights)

In summary, I was pleased, but somewhat disappointed with the sluggish time. This was not completely unexpected, as I know I was not in the same shape I was last year at this time.

(I'm No. 320, in the forefront of this pic, about 400 meters to go).
However, I am probably done racing for the winter, and with more snow on its way, I will set
tle into running 2 to 3 time per week, and cross country skiing on the weekends when weather permits.

I am actually thinking about taking another stab at cracking 5 in the mile this summer, but that means I should stay in really good condition all winter, and start building a good base early in the spring. It's very easy and enjoyable talking about a sub-5 at this time of year, when spring is several months away...........

Link to results (in addition to clicking on the title):

http://www.leonetiming.com/2008/Roads/Reindeer08.txt

Mark