Ran a great race today. Finished in 19:30 which was good for 5th overall and 1st in my age group. Splits of 6:16, 6:18 & 6:13. Fastest 5K in a very long time. Ro (my wife) and our friend Katie Brady joined me for race #19. After getting slightly lost we found the winery in plenty of time. We were pre-registered which always helps with picking up the numbers and shirts. This was the 4th annual race and from what the race director said, it has grown every year. This race has lots of potential because the winery is a gracious host and the course runs arounds the local farms. They gave out generous goodie bags stocked with all kinds of stuff. After taking the banner pic we visited with the many vendors who set up shop near the start.
Nothing special so I left the ladies to warm up. Ro and Katie were going to walk the 5K course so that left me to go all out. I didn't think it was a hilly course so I was planning on trying to break 20 again. I did run every day this past week so I wasn't sure if my legs would be tired and respond. I think there were about 180 runners today. I positioned myself near the front and promised myself not to go out too fast. I felt like I was going easy but when I heard 6:16 for the first split I thought I was going to fade in mile two like I do at all my 5K's. Unlike the previous few 5K's, mile two was relatively flat at first so I just kept pushing. My heart rate was hitting 158 so I knew I still had a little to give. There was a long slight hill at the end of mile 2 which some guy tried to pass me on, but I was not having any of that. Mt Wash is only 2 months away and if I can't hold a little sissy hill what am I going to do in New Hampshire. When I crested the hill, the guy was not to be heard from again so I just concentrated on the 3 runners in front of me, 2 guys and 1 girl (the lead female). I started my push just at the end of mile 2 and was surprised to hear a 6:18 split but my heart rate was now 163. Hills will do that to your ticker. After passing the first guy, I was trying to encourage the second guy in front of me to push it in with me to the finish. He was running strong but seem to have no kick left. (more on that later). Just the woman in front of me which I passed with about 300 yards from the finish. All three of those runners gave me motivation to keep my pace and was surprised to hear an 18 handle at mile split 3. I think it was 18:56 which at that point made me realize I was going to be right around 19:30. My legs were spent and I was breathing pretty hard as my HR hit 169 towards the end. After drinking some water, I slowly jogged back to where Katie and Ro were in the race and walked the last mile 
with them. Good job by them as they went faster than the last time they walked a race with me. After cooling down we hit the wine tasting which was a nice change from other races. 
Bob's 50@50 is all about diversity. Like I stated earlier, the owner was a gracious host was more than happy for us to taste all the wines they produce. If you like local wines, make a stop at Cream Ridge Winery on route 539. I was surprised to see I was 5th overall which translated to first in my age group. 
While tasting the wines one of the guys I passed at the end came up to me to congratulate me on my finish. I was feeling good about it but when I discovered he and a bunch of other runners had biked 35 miles from Mendham to get to the race, my accomplishment of passing him at the end didn't seem so terrific. I passed a guy with 400 meters to go who biked 35 miles to the start which was much of an accomplishment. Each week it seems I meet folks who in their own right are doing great physical challenges regularly. His name was Joe Z 
and he has inspired me to bike to the start of at least two of my future races. I think I will start with a Princeton and North Brunswick race since they are relatively close. Anyway, time for me to prepare for race #20 tomorrow in Rye, NY. Not sure what my legs will be like but I am sure I will run hard at some point. looking forward to see Brad Hunt and Tim O'Malley.
Nothing special so I left the ladies to warm up. Ro and Katie were going to walk the 5K course so that left me to go all out. I didn't think it was a hilly course so I was planning on trying to break 20 again. I did run every day this past week so I wasn't sure if my legs would be tired and respond. I think there were about 180 runners today. I positioned myself near the front and promised myself not to go out too fast. I felt like I was going easy but when I heard 6:16 for the first split I thought I was going to fade in mile two like I do at all my 5K's. Unlike the previous few 5K's, mile two was relatively flat at first so I just kept pushing. My heart rate was hitting 158 so I knew I still had a little to give. There was a long slight hill at the end of mile 2 which some guy tried to pass me on, but I was not having any of that. Mt Wash is only 2 months away and if I can't hold a little sissy hill what am I going to do in New Hampshire. When I crested the hill, the guy was not to be heard from again so I just concentrated on the 3 runners in front of me, 2 guys and 1 girl (the lead female). I started my push just at the end of mile 2 and was surprised to hear a 6:18 split but my heart rate was now 163. Hills will do that to your ticker. After passing the first guy, I was trying to encourage the second guy in front of me to push it in with me to the finish. He was running strong but seem to have no kick left. (more on that later). Just the woman in front of me which I passed with about 300 yards from the finish. All three of those runners gave me motivation to keep my pace and was surprised to hear an 18 handle at mile split 3. I think it was 18:56 which at that point made me realize I was going to be right around 19:30. My legs were spent and I was breathing pretty hard as my HR hit 169 towards the end. After drinking some water, I slowly jogged back to where Katie and Ro were in the race and walked the last mile 
with them. Good job by them as they went faster than the last time they walked a race with me. After cooling down we hit the wine tasting which was a nice change from other races. 
Bob's 50@50 is all about diversity. Like I stated earlier, the owner was a gracious host was more than happy for us to taste all the wines they produce. If you like local wines, make a stop at Cream Ridge Winery on route 539. I was surprised to see I was 5th overall which translated to first in my age group. 
While tasting the wines one of the guys I passed at the end came up to me to congratulate me on my finish. I was feeling good about it but when I discovered he and a bunch of other runners had biked 35 miles from Mendham to get to the race, my accomplishment of passing him at the end didn't seem so terrific. I passed a guy with 400 meters to go who biked 35 miles to the start which was much of an accomplishment. Each week it seems I meet folks who in their own right are doing great physical challenges regularly. His name was Joe Z 
and he has inspired me to bike to the start of at least two of my future races. I think I will start with a Princeton and North Brunswick race since they are relatively close. Anyway, time for me to prepare for race #20 tomorrow in Rye, NY. Not sure what my legs will be like but I am sure I will run hard at some point. looking forward to see Brad Hunt and Tim O'Malley.
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