Watchung Hills Municipal Alliance Run 2014

Those looking to enjoy some fall foliage and engage in a small, hometown race can find it in the annual Watchung Hills Municipal Alliance 5-K Run, benefiting Drug Education programs in area schools. Starting and finishing around the bucolic Watchung Lake in Somerset County, the race usually has a field of less than 100 runners, most of them the same, year-after-year. The race has a long sloping uphill and downhill section on Sunlit Drive in Watchung, and a short but challenging hill near the end, on Stirling Road. "Team Mountain Fitness" had about 15 participants in the race this year, myself included. The race date has varied, but this year was held on Sun., Oct. 23rd. It was one of the first true fall days in New Jersey, a brisk 50 degrees at race-time, with a blustery but manageable wind. Running my first race since tearing my right meniscus this summer, I made sure I warmed up over a mile before the start, to loosen up the sore right leg. I also prepped with two Aleve in the morning. Not sure of what to expect, I took it out hard at the flat start, knowing the hills (both up and down) are the roughest on the knees. With a field of about 50, I was in fourth or fifth place in the early going, close enough to the lead to keep me motivated. The first mile marker is halfway up Sunlit, on the steepest part of the race. I think my watch read a disappointing 7:06, but at least I was running without much knee pain. As I've gotten older (my 56th birthday was in September), 5-K's have become more and more of an anaerobic sprint. I basically start at near full-out pace, and just try to maintain it throughout. Let's face facts: my heart-rate max (now 166) and spring in my legs have dropped at about an equal amount through the years, and I just have to be in oxygen debt all the way to have any respectable showing. Strategy? Run as hard as your body allows! With that in mind, I put injury concerns aside, and tried to push the downhill on the second mile to get a decent split. By now alone in fourth place, with no one right in back or front, I passed the two mile mark in 13:50. Now, it was just about maintaining solitary focus. I tried to take advantage of a 1/4 mile flat straightaway on the Mountain Blvd. side of the Lake, and, gasping, pushed as hard as I could up the hill past Water and Wine restaurant. The final 1/4 mile is flat to downhill, and is well-committed to memory from years of running this race, and practicing along the course. Although about a minute slower than my best this year, I was not disappointed to pass the finish line in 21:46, knees still intact! There was a lot of post-race comradeship and picture-taking, and nearly everyone involved got some type of age-group medal. Add in a nice long sleeve T-shirt and some late-morning sunshine peaking through the tall trees - it was good to be able to run and enjoy the low-key charm of the Alliance 5-K!