Bob Beckert Run 2010

The seventh Bob Beckert Memorial Scholarship 5-K Run, previewed in an earlier post, was held under hot, muggy conditions on June 6, 2010. I've run every one of the Beckert runs, which benefits a Scholarship in his name at Watchung Hills High School.
On a rolling course, with a steep, 300-yard climb to the finish in the high school parking lot, the race has a lot of small-town charm. Many of the participants were friends of Bob Beckert or know his children, and most of the runners know each other, as well.
I use it as one of the tests of my fitness level as I (like everyone else) age year-to-year. Now that I'm 51, I've been in a new age-group category the past two years, and am usually able to garner an age-group medal in most races I run. I'm happy to say I won my age-group here as well, but my time (20:12) was the slowest I've recorded at the Beckert Run.
After any race, good or bad, the analysis begins. Here, the conditions were actually excellent for me: Unlike most other runners, I thrive in the heat. Although I had a restless night of sleep before the race, I was in a positive mental state and not overly stressed about the event. My race strategy went the way I like it as well -- start off steady, no hyperventilating, and no one passed me after the first half-mile.
Yet, my time was 20 seconds slower than last year. Possible factors: three weeks of lost training after the Rutgers Half-Marathon on April 18, when I tweaked my right hamstring in the fourth mile; a smaller field in the race, with no one directly ahead or behind me over the second half of the race; no splits, which means I could have slowed down without realizing it; and finally, my advancing age.
I've never believed in aging. A part of me feels as if I'm 51, and have been running anywhere between 20 and 100 miles a week for the past 35 years (as well as weightlifting, rowing and cycling). I should be faster than a 18- or 25-year-old. However, I realize 99% of professional or Olympic athletes are 35 or under, and there has to be a legitimate reason (or many) for that.
All in all, I'm thankful for how well I am still doing (placing sixth overall in a field of 200), and grateful every day that I still have the ability to do one of the things I most enjoy.
Every race is the end result of an experiment of training, rest, diet and motivation. I'll let you know how the next one goes!