7:00 AM - Alarm goes off. I kind of wake up. Do I want to get up and do this or do I want to sleep another hour or so? Why do I always ask myself that on race mornings? Although I don’t like morning running, I know that I will get up and go. Otherwise, I will be unhappy with myself all day. I have choices today. I want a short race. Three 5k’s to choose from in the Baltimore area. I’ll do the 13^th Annual Airport Run for Down Syndrome. I like the benefit.....Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Down Syndrome Clinic. My wife has a cousin with Down Syndrome. Also, one of the primary sponsors of this race is the company from which I retired a little over 2 years ago....Northrop Grumman. The race is held on Northrop Grumman and BWI Airport property with which I am very familiar, although I haven’t run this race since 1989 when it was a 10k.

 

7:30 AM - Time to go. Race time is 8:45. 20 minute drive to the race site, plus a few minutes to stop at McDonald’s on the way to pick up a cup of coffee. Plenty of time to register when I get there and warm up before race time.

 

8:20 AM - Everything went smoothly through registration. Now, I’m sitting in my car with the seat reclined and my eyes closed for a little relaxation before warming up. Hope I don’t doze off. Time to finalize race goals. Weather is good for a 5k. 60's and low humidity. Except for one steep hill in mile 2, course is relatively flat. Last week’s half marathon equates to a 5k of 26:16 and my 5-mile race the week before to a 26:28. I ran a 3-mile pace run Monday at 8:30 pace. That would extend to a 26:24 5k. All three of those runs were at a little less than 100% race effort. Also, I had a very good 20-mile run Friday. My hip that has been bothering me for a couple of weeks feels good. I think I should be able to run a pretty good race today. So, I think I’ll set my floor goal at 26:15, realistic goal at 26:00 and optimistic goal at 25:45.

 

8:45 AM - Finished my warmup. The last 200 yards of the course is a slight incline from my car to the finish line. I ran a few strides over this stretch at the end of my warmup. Good practice for a finishing kick. It’s time for the race to start. Lot’s of runners milling about, but no one is near the start area. This one will be very late. Meanwhile, I strike up a conversation with a guy I’m standing near. His name is Bill and it turns out that he’s my age....60.

 

8:50 AM - The race director is calling for the walkers for the 9:00 AM 3k walk. He’s going to start them first. Fortunately, they go out the opposite direction form the 5k race. OK. They are away and he is finally calling the runners to the 5k start area.

 

9:05 AM - The race starts! Finally! 20 minutes late!! It takes me 15 seconds to cross the start line. The course starts on Rte 170 in front of the Central Building of a Northrop Grumman complex. After 1/4 mile, it makes a right turn into the complex and winds its way between several buildings, a hangar and an airplane parking tarmac before heading into BWI Airport territory. There are about 16 ninety degree turns on this course. A half mile into the race, a guy passed me who must weigh 275 pounds and was wearing a “Bars of Cape Hatteras” T-shirt. OK, so he’s probably 30 years younger than I, but can a guy that heavy who apparently likes to party really expect to run sub-26? I watch him slowly increase the distance between us. A mile into the race, it turns onto the BWI Foxtrot West taxiway.

 

9:13 AM - I pass a water station, which I skip, and a few yards later the 1 mile marker. My split is 8:15....7 sec/mile faster than the pace needed for my realistic goal. A little faster than I expected, but I feel good. Halfway through the second mile, I close on the Cape Hatteras guy and pass him.

 

9:20 AM - We have reached Blueberry Hill. It’s the only significant hill on the course. It’s a radar test site behind one of the Northrop Grumman buildings. I know it well. I spent a lot of time on it when I worked. It’s a fairly short hill of about 400-500 meters, but steep. Eleven people pass me going up the hill....including the Cape Hatteras guy. As I near the top, I can hear music playing. I’m focused on working the hill and I don’t wear my hearing aids when I run, so I don’t notice what the song is until I near the top.....Fats Domino singing, “I found my thri-ill on Blueberry Hi-ill....”!! The engineers who work on the hill set it up for us. Who said engineers don’t have a sense of humor. J  I pass 15 people going down the other side of the hill....including the Cape Hatteras guy. Never see him again.  J

 

9:22 AM - There’s the 2-mile marker and split timer. Second mile split 9:07!! 55 seconds slower than the first mile!?! I don’t thiiiiink sooooo!?! Although the one and two mile markers are painted on the road on this certified course, one has to be wrong. I expected mile 2 to be the slowest because of Blueberry Hill, but I didn’t lose that much time on the hill and I can’t believe I slowed over the rest of the mile. One thing for sure, if it’s correct, I will be very disappointed with this race! Not with the finish time so much as it will mean that I have lost all sense of pacing a race. Oh, well, just keep going and see how it turns out. We are entering a loop segment of the race now, so we see faster runners coming back at us. A few yards later, I spot Bill, the guy I met before the race. He’s about a half mile ahead of me.

 

9:26 AM - I’m about half way through the third mile, now. Working hard, but still feeling strong. Time to push a bit with about a half mile to go. Around the last Northrop Grumman building and into the parking lot about .2 miles from the finish. Slight incline the rest of the way. Focus on a few runners in front of me. Shift to 1:1 breathing rate for final push. Focus on form, staying relaxed and maintaining arm swing cadence. Pass a couple of guys. Come up on the shoulder of a young lady. I yell “Let’s go!” She starts to look at me, then kicks it in and pulls me with her as we both pass another guy.

 

9:30 AM - Cross the finish line in 26:08 clock time, 25:53 net time. Last 1.1065 miles in 8:31 for an average pace of 7:41. Now I know which mile marker was misplaced....the second. Mile two wasn’t that much slower and last 1.1065 miles that much faster than race average pace of 8:20.