First Event of 2005: An Age Group Win!

Well, OK. There were only ten (10) runners and I was the only 30-39 male runner in the entire bunch! But given that it is one of the toughest 5K courses I've ever run on, I'll savor the blue ribbon proudly!

I participated in the Seven Hills Running Club's Resolution Run 5K this morning in Huntsville. (This is the same club that puts on the Huntsville Half Marathon.) For those that have done that event, it follows the same path as the half marathon all the way to the back side of Bowers Stadium. And instead of turning right, to do the out-and-back part towards U.S. 19, you continue straight, going south, down a little bit of a slope, turn left and run by the south part of the stadium and continue going east until you get to Bobby Marks Blvd. (The mile 2 marker is just before you turn left to head back to the Coliseum, where the start/finish area is.)

Then it is heading north before during three right hand turns around the block to the finish line.

Including two fairly stout inclines in the first three quarters of a mile, I posted a 9:30 mile to start off with. The second mile had a slight incline before coming up on the back side of Bowers Stadium, but was primarily downhill or level all the way to the Mile 2 marker. I clocked myself at 18:44 at this point -- a 9:14 mile two.

There's a short incline before you turn left onto Bobby Marks. Then there's a rolling hill with two slight inclines before the three right hand turns. I felt myself slowing down some, but I kept moving (fighting off the temptation to walk). And while I tried to pick up my pace and catch the individual that finished 23 seconds in front of me, I couldn't make it under the 29-minute mark.

I finished officially at 29:57. My stopwatch was 29:57.50. Again, though, a tough 5K course.

I did the calculations that I need to get under 29 minutes. 9:40 the first mile. 9:20 the second mile. Then, 9:54 over the last 1.1 miles -- or a 9:00 pace. That would give me a 28:54 mark!

After the race, I joined Ken Johnson, his son, Tim and True and Esther Collins for breakfast at the IHOP near Interstate 45. (Cafe Texan, on the square in downtown Huntsville, was closed.)

I'll see Ken again in two weeks at the hp Houston Marathon. Hans Jaegar, who I saw in Washington, D.C. at the Marine Corps Marathon, is going next weekend to the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon. In March, he said he'll be running the Little Rock Marathon.

I'll miss the club's next event on the 29th of January as I'll be doing the Mardi Gras Run 10K in Galveston. However, I should be able to attend their next 5K on Sunday afternoon, February 27th at 2 p.m.