I ran this race in 2013, 2014 and 2018, with a finish time of 18:35, 18:40 and 18:20, respectively. Now, two years after my fastest course time, things are dramatically different.
After bounding down that first short hill on Hatfield Street, the work began after the turn onto Smull Avenue. For the next mile and a half, I pushed uphill with all my might, disappointed at how much slower I was running compared to a mere two years ago. My heart sank when the first mile clocked in at 6:51.
What the hell happened to me this year? Is it possible that I had COVID and did not even know it, and now I am feeling the after effects of shortness of breath while my heart feels like it is struggling to pump hard enough to meet the level of activity I am trying to perform? Or am I just getting old?
Whatever it was, I needed to crest this damn hill, now on Mountain Avenue, and finally did so, turning onto Forest Avenue with a 6:49 second mile.
All that was left to do was make up as much time as possible on the downhill to the finish line. A 6:05 third mile was the best I could muster, finishing the race at 20:24, more than two minutes slower than 2018.
So that is it. No more 5Ks for a while. No speed work. No tempo runs. For the next few months, I will do some marathon training - going for long, slow miles. And maybe, just maybe, I can enjoy the run for sake of it.
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