Good Start

Yesterday was my first race of 2009 -- the Fred Lebow Classic, a 5 miler in Central Park. It wasn't really a target race, but I've been feeling good, so I figured I'd see if I could push my PR of 33.52 (6:46/mile). 

I jogged over to the start with TH and PL (it really is nice to have so many races just a jog away!). It was cold, but not too bad, and the roads were clear. I saw cap'n GW near the corrals. He wasn't racing -- just saying "hi". 

I ran mile one in 6:41. I didn't feel like I had gone out crazy fast, so the PR attempt was on. Mile two (mostly downhill) was faster at 6:36. Mile 3 held steady at 6:38, and I was starting to believe. 

I had worked up a pretty good buffer for the expected slow down in mile 4 (Cat Hill).  This point in a 5 miler, with 2 miles to go, and a big hill coming up, is usually when the going gets tough for me. I have to really dig deep for the next mile before the home stretch burst of energy comes. This time, however, I wasn't feeling the usual struggle. I actually felt pretty strong. 

When I topped the hill and saw that mile 4 had gone by in 6:41 -- below PR pace -- I realized that it was in the bag. For the cherry on top of the sunday, I looked up and saw several of my fellow morning runners, including FA, CB and I think VB, jogging the other way. I waved to them and they gave me a huge cheer. 

I really felt like a million bucks. The other racers around me were giving me looks varying from laughing to envy to "is that fair?". I felt bad for them. Not only did I have the unfair advantage of a cheering section, but those same folks cheering had also made me train with hundreds of repeats on the very hill we had just raced up. 

The last mile flew by, ending on a fast downhill. With a 6:30 mile 5, my time was 33:06 (6:37/mile), a 46 second PR. 

Afterward, I saw a bunch of folks including a lot of the morning crew. There were plenty of PRs, and a whole lot of smiles. The speed work must be paying off.