Bruegger's Halloween 5k

Here's an entry that I forgot to past from back in October ...

October 31st was the Bruegger's Halloween 5k at Beaver Lake. I took Josh, one of his friends (T, for short), Elizabeth and one of her friends (H, for short). H's dad ended up bring her brother (A, for short) along also, so there was a gaggle of kids that I was interested in. The weather was great - a bit on the cool side, but not cold, with some sprinkles, but nothing serious. It was a typical late October autumn day in good old CNY. Nice and crispy. Just like the leaves when you step on them.

The 2 Eds were also there (S and L, for short). "S" had some family members there while "L" was by himself. There were 563 runners. That's alot of people to cram onto that trail around the lake. Josh and his friends "A" and "T" were so excited that they couldn't control their energy. They spent the time between registration and the start by running around and playing. I kept telling them that they were gonna pay for that when they are out on the run. But they didn't give the old man any attention. I let them be since they were having a good time and were not bothering anyone.

The kids all lined up and started ahead of me in the crowd and I didn't see any of them for awhile but sure enough, I ended up passing each of the boys during the race. Elizabeth was slow and steady, just like she always is; running smartly, within her abilities. She's all smart like that. I ran with her for a short distance. I asked her if she was gonna be ok if I picked up the pace a little bit. She said yea, and I didn't see her again till she finished. I never saw "H". She did very well; she is on the cross country team and their season just finished so she was in great shape for the race.

The trail is very well groomed and even though there are a few little speed bumps, it isn't hilly at all. The biggest challenge (aside from the sheer numbers of people on the trails) was the wooden, raised platforms in the swampy areas that were very slippery. Dome people slipped and feel on them - "L" had a girl take a tumble right in front of him.

I ended up with a 28:01 for a 9:02 pace. The first mile was marked so I was able to take my split there and I had exactly a 10 minute pace. So I was pretty happy to end up with a 9:02 average pace for the 5k. Not too awful shabby for old Mr. Flabby.

I ran the race with a new pair of Asics off road shoes Ii just bought the day before at Fleet Feet. I know that you should break in a new pair of shoes before racing in them but it was only a 5k and it isn't like I'm going for the win :-) Anyhow, I'm thinking I will wear them on the trails near work and when the snow covers the roads. We'll see how that goes. Ii also picked up a new pair of my regular Asics running shoes. The pair I'm replacing has about 350 miles on them and are in really bad shape, so it was time. I'm gonna bury the old pair in the back yard, that's how bad they are. Even after they are buried, I'm afraid the dog will dig them up if he gets a sniff of them. He might think it is a yummy dead animal.