4th Attempt

#9.

So today I attempted #9 again. This is only my 4^th race this year that’s shorter than a ½ marathon. And I figured 12 days off after running a marathon was fine, so I signed up for the HoBOOken 5k with my sister Alysia. I haven’t run since the marathon, so I figured my legs would be nice and rested. I also figured it’d be a nice, flat course along the waterfront in Hoboken. And it would be October, so not terribly hot weather. All good factors.

But yet again, no luck. I guess running a 5k less than 2 weeks after running a marathon wasn’t the best idea. Oh and I drank about ¾ of a bottle of wine last night at dinner with a college friend. Oh and a Nor’easter came through this morning. Awesome.

A couple of days ago the weather forecast wasn’t looking good. And it didn't change... actually got worse—rainy, windy, and 40s with the temperature dropping. We got to Hoboken this morning and got our race stuff, with 45 minutes to spare. Now where to go to stay dry and warm? Why, the 24-hour CVS of course.

We headed back to the course a few minutes before, where we started with Slim Goodbody, Pocahontas, and Where's Waldo. The first mile was a good pace at 7:04. I went out a bit fast, but I was cold and my legs just wanted to run. In the 2^nd mile, it was getting colder, rainier and windier. I think the Hudson River just wanted to dump on us.

I slowed down a bit on the 3^rd mile and knew I wasn’t going to hit my goal of a 7 minute pace. My legs were just not happy with me. Oh well. Just finishing strong was now the plan. At the finish, my watch came in at exactly 23 minutes, a pace of 7:24. Not too terrible, but I can do better. The official results aren’t up yet, but I obviously didn’t make it. I’ve got a couple of more attempts over the next few weeks. Hopefully they go a bit better than today.

Now time to relax a bit before I go out and celebrate a white Halloween.