Tramps Like Us, 2011

A few recollections about the Born to Run 5-Mile race that I do with members of my family every year on the day after Thanksgiving:

This year my sister actually even signed up in advance so she could be sure to get the special Born to Run shirt, which for every other time we have done this race was a sweatshirt.

So we were all pretty bummed when we got there and it turned out that this time it was a technical, short sleeved tee. I guess that is the in-thing now but I am actually getting pretty tired of them and would have much preferred the sweatshirt, or even a cotton long-sleeved t-shirt.

Another change this year was that instead of gathering at the Freehold fire station for packet pickup and the little mini-expo with all the great deals, they had the pickup outside in front of the Court Jester restaurant. And there was no mini-expo. Just a table set up selling Freehold Area Running Club items. Cathy was extra bummed about this because she was hoping to find some gloves for Ted.

We did have very nice weather this year, though. Not too cold, not too hot.

Before we started our trip to NJ, I spent a few minutes reviewing my old running logs for insights into what went right and what went wrong for me in previous attempts at this race. The big thing is that I had frequently made the mistake of overdressing for it. The race starts at 11 am, so even in a relatively cold year, it usually isn’t too bad.

Except, that first year. That was a cold one, as I recall. Somewhere I have a picture of us all bundled up in our warmest winter running attire, standing in front of the old hotel where they used to have the packet pickup. We were there with Jim Ahrens, a friend from my online running club, who lived in the area. Jim passed away the following year, victim of a sudden, massive heart attack. Running does not protect you from that, much. When your number is up, it’s up.

Anyway, I have learned to dress in lighter clothes if I plan to run “fast.” And not eat too much that morning, which has been another one of my mistakes.

Unlike in the past few races, I had a big, stretch goal for this year. I wanted to run under 40 minutes and place in the top three in my age group. I’ve broken 40 there before (in the 38s actually) but that was ten years ago. I’ve never placed in my age group. I figured that it would likely take a sub-40 to do it. Realistically, I thought I was in more like 42 minute shape. That’s why the sub-40 was a stretch goal. 42 was the realistic goal.

So we got down there about an hour before the race start, and after a bit of confusion figured out where the packet pickup had moved from the firehouse, and we even found a parking space on the street. We pinned our numbers on and attached the D-chips to our shoes. Tommy and our nephew, Michael, were planning to run. Cathy and our niece, Tori, were going to walk part of the course but not do the whole thing.

I hit the portapotty and went for a warm-up jog, and soon it was time to gather near the start line.

This year I tried to line up a little closer to the start than in the recent past. It is a USATF-certified race, and awards are given by gun time, not chip time. Should have gotten a bit closer, because it took me 16 seconds to cross the line.

It is a pleasant, mostly residential course. You run a mile and a half or so down to a park, then you run a loop on the wood chip trails in the park, and then you basically retrace your steps back to the start (which means the last bit is mostly uphill). Past experience told me that my second mile should be the fastest.

Okay, mile one was a 7:53. I only needed to average sub 8s to achieve my goal, but I was hoping to be a little quicker from the start. Oh well. Mile two was a 7:50. Consistent, but again I really hoped to be a bit faster, especially since this was likely to be my quickest mile.

Now we were into the park. I became aware of a woman in a teal-colored jacket, who looked to be around my age. I pulled ahead of her, then she pulled ahead of me, and I decided to just hang right behind her and draft off her. If that’s how you want to play it, if you won’t stay passed, then I am going to draft off you for awhile.

Did not hit my watch for the mile 3 time, but miles 3 and 4 were 17:09. Well, there goes the sub-40.

There are two significant uphills in the second half of the race. I let teal woman pull farther ahead. I always slow down a bit on the uphills. I was not having a bad race. Yeah, I wanted to be a little faster but this was okay. I saw Cathy and Tori when I turned the corner in the last mile and it was fun to have people cheer for me.

Coming up the slight incline toward the finish, I realized I was not too far behind teal woman, and decided to kick past her. My last mile was a 7:53, for a chip time of 40:45.

After she crossed the finish line, teal woman surprised me by asking me what age group I was in. She was bummed to hear that we were the same age. I was pleased to find out that somebody else cared about how she raced besides me. It is always nice to learn that you are not the only one who cares. And I was happy that I kicked past someone who was in my age group instead of just letting her go.

In the end it didn’t matter much, because I was 5 of 50 in the age group (52 of 326 women, and 193 of 691 overall). Yes, would have needed that sub-40. I did find out, however, that all the other women in the top ten or so in my age group had gone off from right behind the start line. This meant that I actually passed a few of them along the way even though they had a 16-second head start. It also means that next year I have to start closer to the front if I really want to have a chance at placing. And I do have to get a little faster, because the top three women were still more than 16 seconds faster than I was.