Friday, June 15, 2012

Bob Beckert Memorial 5-K 2012

Following the Long Branch Half-Marathon May 6th, I experienced a common malady - a running "hangover." Five months of focus on one event, and then, good or bad, the inevitable letdown afterward. That's no problem, except that I run the Bob Beckert 5-K in Warren one month later, and as unofficial captain of our health club's team, I try to represent myself, and ourselves, as best I can. This year's "hangover" was worsened by my chronically tender Achilles heel, which held up remarkably during the half-marathon, but throbbed constantly for the next week. Plus, right in-between these two races is the 25-mile "Coast To Coast" Bike Ride for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. So, I limber my legs up for the bike ride, but do very limited running through the first two weeks in May, and then try to focus on the Beckert Run. The last two years, I was unable to break 20 minutes, despite what I thought were good efforts. I set that mark as a legitimate "over-under" for this year's race. The Beckert Run, as I've noted in earlier posts, is a low-key, hometown race, although certified for the 3.1-mile distance. The mile-markers are somewhat of a mystery, with the lines on the street not correlating with the people yelling split times along the way. While somewhat confusing, I think it adds to the race's charm! Also, although advertised as flat, it's actually rolling the whole way, with a killer hill up the Watchung Hills High School parking lot to finish! Like most races, kids burst out in front, and you have to control your pacing in the beginning to not get caught up in that. Thanks to Advil and icing, my Achilles was holding up, and I went through the first mile in either 6:10 or 6:22, depending on which split I wanted to listen to. I passed a couple of people who I heard talking about "breaking 20" in the second mile, and still felt strong, although I was definitely reaching my lactate threshold by this point. There is no two-mile mark, but someone shouted "13 minutes" near a water stop, and took that as a general guideline. In the half-marathon, I ran steady for 10 and slowed noticeably in the last three. Here, at at the shorter distance, I was determined to finish strong. I ran as hard as my body would allow up the sloping Mountain Ave., and made believe the race ended at the traffic light, before the turn up the high school hill. My thinking was, "You may die up that hill regardless, so don't slow down into it, and lose even more time!" I was definitely at my heart race max turning up the parking lot but tried to maintain pace. I thought I was alone, but soon heard spectators yelling "C'mon guys, finish strong!" Since that is a plural expression, I knew I was being closely followed. I gasped through the last few strides, maintaining my place (seventh overall out of 165, 2nd in 50-59 age-group), and hitting the finish line in 19:53. I was too out of it to hit my heart rate watch immediately, but about 30 seconds later, was still at 142. My Achilles killed me again the next day,even worse than after the half-marathon, but I have to say I was happy with the race. Our other team members did well, too, and it was a nice early-Summer day!