Salem 8k

Salem 8k

Monday, June 15, 2009

Greenbrier River Distance Run

I headed to Ronceverte, WV, this past Saturday for the Greenbrier River Distance Run 5-Miler. I really didn’t know what to expect nor did I have any real goals for this race. I just wanted to get out and test the waters and have a little fun. When all was said and done, I guess you could say it was good, so-so, and downright ugly, but overall a success and another step in the right direction.

I’ll start out with the good things. I felt solid physically before, during, and after, which is really what was most important. I was able to run as hard as I wanted with no complaints whatsoever. Additionally, I picked up the win, giving me eight total at this race. They also waived my entry fee as usual, which is a really nice gesture and very much appreciated.

Up next is the so-so part. My final time was 28:17. Being just 6 weeks back into running and only 3 into workouts, I guess I shouldn’t be too upset with that, but when you've run over 3 min faster it makes you feel like you've got a long way to go. I also ran the entire way by myself, although I don’t know how much harder I could have run regardless, as it was warm and VERY humid.

Now for the ugly part. I had to work awfully hard to run no faster than I did. I felt good warming up, but as soon as the race started I felt flat and dead-legged. The first couple miles weren’t too bad. It never felt easy, but I was doing ok until I hit the hill just before the turn around. That pretty much did me in and from there on it was a real struggle. There’s another big hill around 4.5 miles, and I thought I was gonna be lucky to survive that one.

Anyway, there it is. Nothing to get excited about but also not a complete disaster. Overall I’m fairly satisfied with the way it went, but I know now more than ever that I’ve really got my work cut out for me. Below are a couple pics, one just after the start and one near the finish. If you're wondering what the heck I'm doing in the second one, I'm holding up 8 fingers, one for each win at this race.



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