Typically, they hovered around 5:56, which was exactly my target. If I was going to beat my personal 5K record of 18:30, I needed to do consistent sub-6 miles.
In addition to the Wednesday track work, I was doing tempo runs on Saturdays. I'd start slow, build to 10K race pace (or at least what felt like it), and hold that pace for only about 10 minutes.
Let me tell you, I don't like doing this stuff, but I am a believer. If you do this kind of training, you will get faster.
So I showed up in Verona on Labor Day with a great deal of confidence and a healthy case of the pre-race jitters. It was my first race of the new season and my first short race since New Year's Day.
After picking up my packet, which included an excellent polyester technical shirt, I did my requisite warmups of stretching, jogging and dancing to the Phish song "Party Time". There was a great vibe in Verona Park, despite the gross humidity, as I jogged around, checking out the park (which I have run past numerous times but never ventured into) and the people. Finally, we lined up on Lakeside Drive at Bloomfield Avenue for the start.
Once the signal was given, I was shot out of a cannon. I made the mistake (yet again) of starting too far back and had to weave my way around people who should not have been in the front of the pack.
Finally getting into the front, I pushed my way along Lakeside Drive until the right turn into the residential neighborhood and found myself staring up a sizable hill. I bounded up, passing people along the way. Hills, while unpleasant and sometimes painful, have become a strong point for me. While everyone else is huffing and puffing, I'm making my move.
On the other side of the hill, I was definitely feeling it from the work I had done and it was only the first mile marker. Winding through the quiet streets, there were timers calling out the mile splits. The first mile was well under six minutes; the next, just under thirteen. I was on target for a PR, but it wasn't a runaway (so to speak). It would still require focus and speed.
Luckily, I had to go down that same hill. This was no time to hold back, so I sprinted down the hill, mugging for the photographer, and turned back onto Lakeside. The right turn onto Bloomfield led to another uphill and into the entrance to the park. It was the home stretch and I was pushing with all my might. As I approached the finish line I could see it was going to be close as the seconds ticked away on the clock, ever closer to the 18:30 which I was trying to beat.
No dice. I was mere seconds away, finishing at 18:33, my second-best ever. In addition, my result earned me a first place trophy for my age group and a gift certificate to Fleet Feet running store in Montclair. Still, I couldn't help but think that if I had started in the front of the pack, those three seconds would have disappeared. (More about that in the next post.)
After composing myself and cooling down a bit, I jogged back to the hill near the park entrance and cheered for almost all of the other runners, trying to pep talk them into the home stretch. I tried to encourage a woman who slowed to a walk, telling her she could get up that hill while running, but she said to me, "I can't. I'm not a runner."
My reply to her was what I was told more than five years ago and what I tell everyone who is willing to hear it: "Yes, you are! You are here, at this race, giving it your all. Even if just for today, you ARE a runner!"
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