Final 3: Avondale, Mews, Newport

The downside of remaining relatively healthy and race-ready is that I've fallen terribly far behind on these race reports. I can't stand the thought of a 2019 race showing up in the 2020 section of the blog, so in an attempt to squeeze the final three write-ups in before the end of the year, this will be an abbreviated post containing all of them.

First up, all the way back in early November, was the Avondale "Setting the Pace for Conservation" 5K. This was another in my series of new-to-me races in 2019, and I was excited at the prospect of a very flat 5K to shoot for a fast time. Specifically, I wanted to take a crack at sub-16, and thought the easy course could be just what I needed to make it happen. However, I wasn't anticipating the strong winds that we'd face head-on during the opening mile and again in the final quarter-mile before the finish. Still, I figured I'd take a shot, and verbally committed to it when I told Matthew that I would try to hit 5:10 pace for as long as I could before attempting a kick.

Speaking of Matthew, he was a wildcard in the race. He was coming off a long injury that put a serious dent in his training volume. But...he was still Matthew. His no-running speed was pretty close to what I'm able to muster on what passes for full training these days. Tommy, who has been rounding back into form and was a multi-time champ of this race, was also there and would be a threat, too.

The last smiling I'd be doing for a while. (All pics from Jana.)

Still early and feeling good.

At the start, I grabbed the lead right away and was surprised to be able to hold something close to 5:10 pace through the wind. I must have spaced out for a bit after that, as I was taken aback by the 5:15 mile split. I failed in my attempt to get back on track in the second mile and slowed slightly to 5:17. On the out-and-back portion of the mile 2, I was also reminded of how close Matthew was at this point in the race. I was surely in his crosshairs, and if I couldn't hit a strong final mile, I'd be in trouble. Fortunately, I was able to get the legs turning over, and the final mile was 5:07, including the tough wind section. I hadn't been doing the math in my head, so I was shocked to see the clock only in the high 15:50s as I approached the finish. It wouldn't be sub-16, but it was a lot closer than I'd expected. The final time of 16:06 was my second fastest road 5K ever, just 7 seconds off the Love Run (blog post) from three years again in California.

Finally through the wind and into the finish.

One final note on this race: the prize basket was the most unique and among the the most generous I'd ever received. I'll certainly be back at this one again and will hope for less wind!

Two weeks later, I toed the line for the first time at the Mews Gear 'n' Beer 6.9K just a few miles down the road from my home. To describe the weather that day as "wet" would be similar to saying the surface of the sun is "warm." It was an absolute deluge. Before the race had even started, I was as wet as I've ever been in my life. But hey, everyone else had to deal with it, too, right?

The race started up a river that is sometimes known as Wright Avenue. My legs felt heavy right away, and I quickly fell behind about a dozen people. I sloshed past a few on Willard and soon was in fourth as we entered the Allen Farm neighborhood on the other side of Allen Ave. My legs were no longer heavy, but I couldn't feel my feet. Really! It was the strangest sensation and made turning them over awfully tricky. The leader at this point - Bronson Venable - was so far ahead that I couldn't see him or the police escort. Second place was also quite far up, and third was maybe 10 seconds ahead. I was intent on catching third and was making good progress when I had an odd feeling of light-headedness that I'd never experienced in a race before. I slowed until it passed but was somewhat reluctant to increase the pace again. Eventually, competitiveness won out, and I continued my quest as we turned on to South Rd.

I did catch the guy shortly after, and he gave some words of encouragement to go for the next guy, who did seem to be slowing slightly. I got within shouting distance of second as we got close to the turn back on to Highland. How do I know I was this close? Because I actually shouted at him! He had nearly run past Highland when I yelled to turn right at this unmarked and unmanned junction. He got back on track, but I gained a second or two on him due to his uncertainty. I had also picked up the pace considerably (5:08 fourth mile vs. 5:32 third mile) but was running out of room.

For the final part of the race, I was pretty sure we'd be turning back down Wright (the river from earlier), but there was surprisingly no one there either, despite there being a volunteer one road prior, where there was no turn required. The second place guy missed this one and didn't hear my shout to turn. Now I had a conundrum. Do I go the way I'm supposed to and get 2nd place unfairly, or do I follow him off course where we'd both likely sacrifice our places? I chose the latter, partly because I felt I'd become his guide and was afraid he wouldn't know where to go on this new course we were creating, and partly because I didn't have time to think the whole thing through.

We continued down to the base of Highland where a confused police officer, not expecting to see runners, was directing traffic that had been diverted off Main St. I shouted to turn right and then right again on Main. Here, we had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of crossing the finish line in the opposite direction, which was a surprise to everyone there. Most interesting was that the next fifteen or so runners all followed us, too! So, we didn't sacrifice our positions; instead we got 0.2 miles more race for our money. Most surprising to me, however, was the fact that the 2nd place guy turned out to be the famed Matty P, now mortal as he eases into running retirement.

I was so cold afterward that I could hardly hold a spoon to eat my post-race meal and had to get to the car to change before coming back for the awards. And it was a good thing, too, as I got another generous prize for coming in third, and our team of me, Tommy, Shara, and Mikey won the "Community" category and got a nice gift certificate.

The final race in this installment was the Christmas 10K (or "Almost 10K", depending on your preference) in Newport. I'd last run this in 2013 (captured in my first ever blog post!) in 34:04. My 10K road PR, set on a training run back in 2002, was 33:43, and that would serve as my goal this year.

There were lots of running friends and acquaintances in attendance, including Jonny, Jeff, Brightman, Jackman, and more. Bronson once again came out of nowhere to show up at the start with seconds to spare, just as he'd done at the Mews race. It was now a race for second.

The good-looking, if follicly-challenged, WTAC crew before the race. (All pics from Jana, yet again.)

I got out in second place behind Bronson but had plenty of company. I was passed by a guy in baggy shorts over tights -- usually a telltale sign of front-of-pack impostor -- but he was looking pretty good, so I stayed patient and sat on him. I got ahead of him around the mile mark (5:13 - a bit fast, though it has a good amount of downhill). I was reminded around this point of my back pain, which had been almost debilitating earlier in the week. Just four days before, I'd been nearly unable to walk, but it had healed nicely since then, and, aside from a few tweaks during the race, I didn't feel it at all.

Some familiar faces span the road just after the start.

I settled too much at the start of the second mile and was again shadowed by the baggy shorts guy. I surged and then tried to hold that pace as best I could the rest of the way. I succeeded beyond my wildest expectations, running splits of 5:27, 5:27, 5:27, 5:27, 5:26 for the next five miles. I almost wish I'd slowed down one second in that sixth mile. Aside from this statistical oddity, not much happened the rest of the way. I ran completely alone, a minute-plus behind Bronson and nearly a minute ahead of the next guy. After the Mews directional debacle, I tried my best to watch Bronson's turns, which really tested my eyesight. Fortunately, I saw him at most of the key points and knew the others well enough to figure them out for myself. The final time was 33:29 -- well ahead of my previous time on this course and a 10K road PR, if you're willing to consider this a 10K. If you're not, then you can keep track of my alternative PRs yourself.

Into the finish.

The WTAC team placed a distant 2nd to the Turtles but still made out with way too much Budweiser. I did really enjoy racing with the old crowd again. With the demise of the Galoob winter racing series, I see these guys pretty infrequently, so it's always nice to catch up. On a humorous note, I discovered, after the race, that I'd been wearing my racing tight shorts inside-out all day. Maybe having the liner on the outside should have been a hint. Here I was, judging baggy shorts guy; meanwhile, he was probably thinking, "What's with this weirdo?" This stuff doesn't happen to other people, does it?

That's it for 2019, just before the deadline. Here's to more racing and more timely write-ups in 2020!