road running race 32:41 [4] 4.75 mi (6:53 / mi)
shoes: Montrail #2
Manchester Road Race. Not thrilled but not bad. 514th overall out of maybe 9,000, 4th in 60-69.
Splits: 6:29, 7:44 (uphill), 6:46, 6:43, 4:59.
Not thrilled because the last half seemed like very hard work for not good times. You reach the high point at about 2.2 miles and then it is all down/flat. Mile 4 and the last .75 should have been quicker, but it just wasn't there. Time up the hill was ok. So why no better? There's the age issue, can't do anything about that, it will only get worse. And the training issue, but my training hasn't been too bad. And then the G issue, where I clearly am carrying the proverbial extra 5-pound bag of sugar. Need to do something about that.
Glad I went though. Saw a bunch of Walkers, plus George clued me in on just where to park and how to get there to avoid closed streets, so I parked within a couple blocks of the start/finish. And getting in the under-35 seeding group was just right, crossed the start line in 7 seconds and right then could start running as fast as I cared to. Lots of people, but not annoyingly so.
And a nice rest of the day too -- a tour of Charlie's laurel wrangling feats, a short but ok visit with my mom, and a delicious dinner chez Rhonda.
Oh, yeah, one other thing -- the thought popped into my mind somewhere around the 4-mile mark, it occurred to me to wonder how close I might be to sudden death? Was I exerting myself to such an extent (and I was working hard) that I was close to taking a one-way trip over the edge? Or was I in no danger at all? Unresolved, of course -- or maybe I should say, Thank goodness -- and I didn't linger over the thought for long, there were still several more minutes of pain to deal with....
Note
Well, the results are out and I'm pretty sure I am now 1-0 lifetime vs. Frank Shorter.... :-)
Also, there was a finisher age 68, ran 37:57, from Colchester, CT, name of Clem McGrath. J-man's dad?