Monday, December 14, 2020

Passaic Valley Rotary Run 5K - Nov. 28, 2020

Hi!  Remember me?  I used to run sub-18 5Ks.  Almost every time.  For nine straight years.  

And who am I now?  Not that guy.  I am the guy that used to be that guy.  But if I have to settle for that, then for the usual 5K that comes a month after a marathon, I would run a course that I had mastered when I was that guy.

Ah, Little Falls, my old stomping grounds.  I had run the Passaic Valley Rotary Run six times between 2008 and 2015, with times that varied from 19:21 in 2009 to 18:08 in 2015.  I lived in that township during those years and had run most of the roads.  I knew that course so well, I could do it with my eyes closed. So at least I would not have to worry about that aspect of it.  

What did worry me was that even though I was relentlessly doing speed work, I was getting slower with every passing week.  Just a couple of years ago, I could cover more than six miles in a 40-minute tempo run, getting down to a six-minute pace or better in the middle; now I can barely muster much more than 5.5 and the fast miles are not that fast.  Speaking of fast miles, when doing mile repeats, none of them are even getting near the 6-minute mark, whereas in 2018, I could blast out sub-6s.

Still, at the get-go on McBride Avenue from the Little Falls Recreation Center into Woodland Park, I managed a 6:10 first mile, turning onto Lackawanna Road and then Riverview Drive in Totowa, along the Passaic River, and that gave me a glimmer of hope.

I knew there was a hill coming and I geared myself up for it - push hard enough to get up quickly, but not so hard that it would deplete all my energy. Unfortunately, I failed on both counts - that mile ended up being 6:47 as I turned onto Union Boulevard and then Walnut Street, and it took the wind right out of my sails.  

The third mile, on Prospect Street, First Avenue, Wilmore Road and, finally, Maple to Paterson Avenue and straight downhill to the Rec Center was labored, and I only managed a 6:28.  My final time was 19:56.  Slower than even the first time I ran that course 12 years ago.  Slower than every 5K I have raced since 2007.

I went home, showered, ate pancakes and tried to not be depressed.