Just figured to drop in a line on how things are going. Training has been locking in for next month's showdown with the Steamtown Marathon. Managed to get in a nice 21 mile long run yesterday on a day I was intending to run a 30K trail race. However, life intervened and it had to be switched to a simple long run.
Most notably since the GLER 100K, I've run three 5K's.
The first was on Aug 31 and was the final edition of the Jimmy D 5K up in my old stomping grounds. Previously, I had run 3 out of the first 4 years taking second in the 4th. With relocating to Philadelphia, it has been hard to get back but with this year closing out a decade of the race, I returned. While I finished 3rd, it really was so much more than a race for me as I got to see a lot of familiar faces, including the RD Erin Varga.
Then on Sept 6, I toed the line for the HCA 5K which is a really small race run in Drexel Hill. It has become a tradition race for me and the start of the fall racing season even if this year was the hottest and most humid it has been in the six years I've done it. Much like the previous 5, I won this race. However, my time was a shade over 17 minutes making me question my leg speed as this was the slowest time I had ever run in the event by over 30 seconds.
Thankfully, I had a real good higher mileage week this past week and ended up running in the Boxers Trail 5K. This is a trail around 2 miles from my house that has a long tradition of being a training ground for such fighters as Joe Frazier. It is not a fancy race but the 9:30 start and close proximity to home allowed me to do my warm-up as the commute with some sleep in time. Here the result was a victory but completely opposite of HCA. At Boxers, I ran 40 seconds faster in 16:32 which is impressive in the sense it is a mix of trail and pavement with the trail throwing a good series of rolling hills for around 2 miles of the course.
Unless I find something longer to race, it probably will be local 5Ks until Steamtown. But I need the speedwork so that is good.
That's all for now......(Hey, I said this would be quick.)
