Enjoyable race this morning out at Suffolk. Last year I ran 18:17 and finished 4th; today I was hopeful of a sub-18:00 on the awkward gravel trail.
I warmed up for almost 2 miles with the aim of finding a good line to stick to on the trail. The left side looked the best, so I turned around and ran back to the car to change shoes and put on the race singlet. Bill Hart was also checking out the course and it was good to chat as we headed to the start area.
The race promptly started at 9:00am and as usual there was a mad scramble for pole position. Coming off a great Shamrock Marathon, Billy Chorey hit the front and comfortably stayed in first place for the whole race. Mr. Consistency Pete Gibson and a couple of younger runners tracked Billy closely and I settled in hopeful of a fast first mile.
Pretty soon I’d passed the younger runners and found myself in 3rd place about 10 seconds behind Pete and 20 seconds behind Billy. Mile 1 came in at 5:38, but unfortunately felt more like a 5:28. I was already working pretty hard so focused on a short stride length and fast cadence. At the turnaround Billy and Pete still looked strong and resigned myself to a third place finish at best.
Mile 2 was a lot slower (5:56) and felt more like a 5:46. In the distance it looked like Pete was closing slightly on Billy, but with just half a mile to go it looked doubtful that the overall positions would change. Finally the 3 mile mark was in sight and in the distance I could see the clock reading 17:20 something. There wasn’t much left in the tank, but I managed to quicken my stride and cross the line in 17:55 – good enough for an overall third place.
The post race food was pretty good – fruit, Subway subs, cookies and water – and it was nice to chill out with race winner Billy, his wife Lauren, Welsh Terrier Jefferson and of course Lady Bulldog – who once again smoked the 40-44 age group for the second week running. Well done Ally!