Scoring at Coogan's

My first goal for this year was to run a sub 20 minute 5k.  I planned my first attempt at this goal for lasts week's Al Gordon 5k, but I couldn't make the race because of a family trip. 

Today's  Coogan's Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks Run was the next 5k on my list, and I felt ready to give it a go. I lined up aggressively in the corral, and found myself standing next to some of my faster teammates. This year, Coogan's is a club points race, so a lot more of the fast folks showed up.  It wasn't really appropriate to be starting with these guys, so when the crowd moved forward, I hung back a bit. 

Off the starting line, I was passing a good number of runners, but not so many that it was really holding me up. I hit mile one at 6:21, better than the 6:26 pace I needed to hit my goal. 

In the next mile, I surprised myself by passing a couple of runners that usually finish way ahead of me. Sure, they might have been going easy today, but I still took it as inspiration to keep pushing. Mile 2 had the big hill, and despite pushing hard, my pace slipped to 6:38. That put me behind, but the last mile was mostly downhill,  so I knew I could at least come close. 

For the last 1.1 miles, I dug deeper than I ever have. It looked like I was going to miss my goal by just a few seconds, and I wasn't going to let that happen without a fight. For almost all of the last mile, I was running at finish line kick effort.

When I saw the finish line clock I had a glimmer of hope, but it was clear that it was going to by down to the wire. I pushed to line, and when I looked at my watch it read 19:57. Unbelievable. 

My lungs were burning, but I was elated. There's nothing like running really really hard and hitting your goal. 

After the race, PL and I skipped the free beer at Coogan's Pub, and instead grabbed some eggs and plantains with onions (and hot sauce) -- quickly becoming our Washington Heights tradition. Good eatin'.

When I got home and checked the official results, there was more good news. Amongst my teammates, I finished 4th, and 2nd amongst the masters runners in the club. That means I "double scored" (scored in the open and masters divisions) for the team. It's the first time I've scored for the team in any club points race.

The only bad news is that now I need a new goal (yes, I must always have a goal). I think it can wait until tomorrow though...