Sunset Classic five-mile race in Bloomfield

Run enough races in one area and some names and faces will inevitably become familiar.
 
At the Sunset Classic, a five mile race in Bloomfield that has been a fixture on the North Jersey running scene since the early 1980s, I saw my one-time arch nemesis Sergio Cano, who bested me in a series of races in 2010, as well as Maria Danna, who had so handily whipped me at the St. Jude's 15K earlier this month. There were also familiar running clubs - Clifton Road Runners, Garmin Runners, etc.

After the St. Jude's race, without any set marathon plans yet, I signed up for the Sunset because I always need something on my race schedule.

During the two weeks of intense training aimed at beating my PR of 30:24 from the 2010 Ho Ha Classic in Hoboken, I finished each workout with only the slightest bit of confidence that the 6:03 pace goal would happen.

It seems so long ago that I had first run this race in 2009 but I remembered one very important thing - at the left turn on Sunset Avenue, just after the first mile mark, there is a huge hill.

Gliding along with little effort, I was astonished to see the clock at 5:44 when I passed the first mile mark. I passed Maria and bounded up the hill figuring I would lose much of the gained time. Surprisingly, after turning left on Forest Avenue with some more uphill work, I hit the second mile with a 5:48.  I deliberately slowed to what felt like a crawl despite the cheers of the spectators and Maria passing me. It felt unnatural to slow down that much, but this was not a 5K - I was barely halfway done so I had to conserve some energy.

Run the race for which you trained, I kept telling myself. That meant a 6:03 pace, and it meant giving back those 34 seconds. Instead of using the downhill to gain ground, I relaxed around the turns on Osbourne Street and Essex Avenue. With a 6:24 third mile, I was closer to my target time but still ahead by 13 seconds. The math started swirling in my head - a 6:09 for each of the two remaining miles will net me a PR.  Certainly I can do that!

Except I suddenly could not. Was it the humidity, the 83-degree heat, the fact that I had started way too fast? Whatever it was, I was losing steam. Quickly. I pushed hard, but even with the downhill of the turn on Glen Ridge Parkway, I only managed a 6:12 in Mile Four. 

Back on Broad Street with only one mile to go, I had to pull a 6:06 or better.  I was grunting, groaning, and pushing with all my might, but never really feeling like I was accelerating. Downtown, spectators, energy, focus, push.

James Street, JFK Drive, home stretch, Foley Field....

Ah, Foley Field and the track finish.  There is something about finishing a race this way that lends an advantage to those of us that do interval training on tracks.  No matter how spent I felt, once we were on the track for the last 300 meters, my body instinctively kicked into high gear. Running tall with full leg extension, I overtook Maria and saw the clock just hitting 30:00 as I rounded the last turn. Finishing with a 30:11 (and Maria a mere half-second behind me), I had knocked out that last mile in 6:02.

It was exhilirating, but I was hurting, out of breath, light-headed, gasping in the humid air, and just about ready to puke.  I cheered for the next few dozen people coming around the track, and grabbed a water and a soda (no Gatorade?), and a yogurt (no bananas?). There was a barbecue set up with hot dogs - how nice, unless you are a vegetarian. I ate a plain bun while regaining the strength to be a cheerleader for the next few hundred runners, staying on the sidelines to cheer everyone in, right down to the last of the 600-plus participants.

Tenth place overall, second in my age group (though winning the first prize of a $20 gift certificate to the Fleet Feet running store in Montclair, because the first male age 35 to 39 was in the top three overall), and most importantly, a new PR made this another excellent experience. This would be the last race in my 30s. What a way to wrap up my first decade of running - four PRs in as many distances, over the course of three months.  Not to mention my fourth best marathon that had preceded them.

The Sunset Classic is a well-organized and enjoyable event for runners of all skill levels. It is not an easy course but the evening setting, mile clocks, track finish and hundreds of runners and spectators provide a quality experience. The selection of post-race food and drink could be improved, but overall this late-June mainstay in Bloomfield has enough to keep going another 30 years and more.