the road ahead

Saturday 5/28 was the Gilio 5K and, well, what a difference two hours can make. Running conditions at 7am were more or less ideal; by 9am the heat and humidity had ramped up to the point where I knew sub-17 was going to be a struggle. So I opted for Plan B: Go out slow and run for a win.

Apparently all of the local competition was elsewhere. I was in 4th place after 0.5mi and the three guys in front all had on knee-length basketball shorts and training shoes. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it just means you have no business winning a road race -- even one as small as this. My two mile split was 11:16 and, despite the pedestrian pace, a quick glance back confirmed that I could coast it in.

The heat has arrived and the next three months will require careful training management. First I have to survive the New England Relay on 6/11. Recovering from that will eat up most of June, and then I have pager coverage in July. Pager coverage doesn't mean that I absolutely can't race but I will be more focused on building up my speed for the fall. Early August brings the USATF-NE outdoor masters track & field championships (8/6) and I am planning on doing the 1500, maybe two events depending on the schedule.