Twilight 5K 5.8.08 9th OA 17:26
Friday evening came and I headed into uptown Charlotte for the Twilight 5k. I parked under the Wachovia Building and dropped my stuff at the Y before heading over to pick up my packet.
Strangely, I arrived about an hour early for the race but there was already a long line preregistered runners. Somehow, this always seems to be the slowest line.
Did some chatting (always need to do some chatting – it is part of my warm up routine), headed back to the Y to change, and then over to the starting line area to warm up. I posted on the TrySports Message Board that I would be heading out for my 3mile warm up at 6:10. 6:10 came and I headed off running the course clockwise.
Well, about 2 ½ miles into the run, I met them running the opposite direction. They had arrived about 6:11. Hey, 6:10 means 6:10 and don’t be late. :)
Got a chance to me Chris B. He was running with our Team for this Twilight event.
Also I got to meet Alex who I had met through my blog.
After my warm up, it was back to the Y and a change into my racing flats and then back to the starting for some pre race striders.
Warming up, I saw Steve S. He was looking smooth and fast as usual. I suspected he was still riding the high from dropping me in the last tenth at Skyline.
One a side note, the guys from the Fire Dept. pulled out this ladder truck and hoisted the largest American flag that I have ever seen. It was a wonderful site.
But back to the race, first the baby joggers were off and then we went roughly a minute later. The first mile down Tryon is always windy and I was looking for a nice place to tuck in. For some reason, I was not feeling it. Maybe it was the Atlanta hills or maybe the 4 hour drive the previous evening.
I hit the first mile in 5:27 and then the 2nd mile in 5:20. The 2nd mile is mostly downhill so most people record their fastest split on it. The last mile rolls back up by the Panther’s Stadium and finishes in front of the Wachovia Atrium. Between the wind and uphill running, I felt like I was crawling during the 3rd mile. Greg and Alejandro flashed by me. Greg was looking extremely strong as he passed me. Alejandro was looking equally strong. I thought both had a chance to catch the runners in front of me.
It seems to take forever before I reached the final tenth of mile. It was the only part of the race where I started to feel better. I crossed the finish line in 9th place and ran 17:26. And, I barely managed to nip Steve at the finish line by 3 seconds.
They passed out finisher medals to everyone which was a nice touch. Usually, finisher medals are only passed out for marathons.
I finished off my warm down of 3 miles and headed back to the Y for a shower.
I stayed around for the awards but it looked like I was one of the few that did. It appeared that most of the awards went unclaimed.
Our ladies TrySports team won the Open Women’s division and our Men’s team finished 2nd in the Open Men’s division.
Apparently, they didn’t get the men’s team setup correctly. Neither Chris B nor I were listed on the team.
I forwarded my original email that listed our TrySports team members to RFYL and recalculated the team results for them. Our TrySports team should have won by about 40 seconds.
Hey, don’t think badly of me for pointing out errors. I am just part of the checks and balances the keep the system running smoothly.
Strangely, I arrived about an hour early for the race but there was already a long line preregistered runners. Somehow, this always seems to be the slowest line.
Did some chatting (always need to do some chatting – it is part of my warm up routine), headed back to the Y to change, and then over to the starting line area to warm up. I posted on the TrySports Message Board that I would be heading out for my 3mile warm up at 6:10. 6:10 came and I headed off running the course clockwise.
Well, about 2 ½ miles into the run, I met them running the opposite direction. They had arrived about 6:11. Hey, 6:10 means 6:10 and don’t be late. :)
Got a chance to me Chris B. He was running with our Team for this Twilight event.
Also I got to meet Alex who I had met through my blog.
After my warm up, it was back to the Y and a change into my racing flats and then back to the starting for some pre race striders.
Warming up, I saw Steve S. He was looking smooth and fast as usual. I suspected he was still riding the high from dropping me in the last tenth at Skyline
One a side note, the guys from the Fire Dept. pulled out this ladder truck and hoisted the largest American flag that I have ever seen. It was a wonderful site.
But back to the race, first the baby joggers were off and then we went roughly a minute later. The first mile down Tryon is always windy and I was looking for a nice place to tuck in. For some reason, I was not feeling it. Maybe it was the Atlanta hills or maybe the 4 hour drive the previous evening.
I hit the first mile in 5:27 and then the 2nd mile in 5:20. The 2nd mile is mostly downhill so most people record their fastest split on it. The last mile rolls back up by the Panther’s Stadium and finishes in front of the Wachovia Atrium. Between the wind and uphill running, I felt like I was crawling during the 3rd mile. Greg and Alejandro flashed by me. Greg was looking extremely strong as he passed me. Alejandro was looking equally strong. I thought both had a chance to catch the runners in front of me.
It seems to take forever before I reached the final tenth of mile. It was the only part of the race where I started to feel better. I crossed the finish line in 9th place and ran 17:26. And, I barely managed to nip Steve at the finish line by 3 seconds.
They passed out finisher medals to everyone which was a nice touch. Usually, finisher medals are only passed out for marathons.
I finished off my warm down of 3 miles and headed back to the Y for a shower.
I stayed around for the awards but it looked like I was one of the few that did. It appeared that most of the awards went unclaimed.
Our ladies TrySports team won the Open Women’s division and our Men’s team finished 2nd in the Open Men’s division.
Apparently, they didn’t get the men’s team setup correctly. Neither Chris B nor I were listed on the team.
I forwarded my original email that listed our TrySports team members to RFYL and recalculated the team results for them. Our TrySports team should have won by about 40 seconds.
Hey, don’t think badly of me for pointing out errors. I am just part of the checks and balances the keep the system running smoothly.
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