Back in the Pack

It was a beginning and an end for me at the  at Saturday.

I was on the verge of retiring my trusty Asics, but made the late call to enter, figuring I could squeeze three more miles out of the shoes and kick-start myself into competitive mode for the bigger races this year.

It turned out to be the right decision.

I hadn’t raced since the weekend after Thanksgiving, when I did Haddon Township’s annual Turkey Trot, and spent the winter as a lone wolf on ice-crusted streets, so I had to make the adjustment to getting back in the pack.

Running with other people was refreshing; it’s one thing to try to push yourself to run as hard as you can in daily workouts, but when you’re in a swarm of two dozen runners, your motivation is just a few steps ahead or beside you.

For my first race of the year, it wasn’t bad: I finished with a 22:01 chip time, a personal record, but more importantly, I hit all three mile marks on a pace within a few seconds of each other–7:05, 7:04 and 7:07.

Sure, the goal I had in my head was 21:59, which would’ve been 24 seconds better than my previous top time, but that was the stretch goal–and missing it by two seconds is hardly the worst thing in the world.

Either way, I knew I wasn’t going to win, or even come close–the Adrenaline is one of the most competitive 5Ks in South Jersey, and the fact that there’s prize money on the line makes it that much faster.

How fast?

Well, the winner this year, Mike McKeeman of Ardmore, PA, clocked a 14:27 and won by 30 seconds–but that was slow compared to some years at Haddonfield, where a 14 flat is closer to the rule than the exception.

The full results are online.

Locals on the Move
West Deptford school board member Denice DiCarlo rocked the best time in her age group, clocking a 20:29 chip time, masters runner Shelley Hill was third in her age group, and the Johnson Matthey squad of John DiCarlo, Jim Sery and Michael Bouve won the corporate team total time competition by nine seconds.

Pet Peeves
I know we all want to be up at the front for the start–hey, it’s called a race, right?–but when there are nearly 1,000 people going at the gun, common sense says if you’re not gunning for the top spot, you should position yourself accordingly.

There was only one major spill as slower runners choked the front of the pack, but be honest with yourself: Unless it’s your first race, you have an idea of where you’ll finish. In a big pack, figure out where that finish will probably be, set yourself accordingly, and your fellow runners will thank you.