River Jam 10k, May Edition
So the summer time is nearly upon us, and
the River Jam 5k/10k race series is back for another year at the Whitewater Center.
Last year, I only made one of their races. This year I put myself on notice
by signing up for all 5 races.
This particular Thursday evening happen to be noticeably
warmer. During my rerace run down by the river, I could feel the
humidity rolling off the water. That was part of what was on my mind. But more concering; while casting my eyes toward the shy, I
could see dark clouds looming in the distance. As race time neared,
spotty drops of rain could be felt. I just hoped they held off until after the race.
The 5k and 10k races start together and
run for much of the same course. At the Lake Loop, the 10k runners
take a right on to the Lake Loop Trail to add the additional three miles. The 5k runners head straight back to the finish by the
channel.
In past races, I had always went out
hard and then was gassed by 2 miles. This time, I took my time and
positioned my self further back as we entered the South Main Trail.
Several runners were ahead me so I picked my spots to move up. In a
couple of places where the trail opens up, I throw in a couple of
hard surges. May be too hard of a surge.
I had passed Andrew about 2 miles, but
he passed me back about 2.5 miles. Just before the Lake Loop, I
passed him back. He followed me for perhaps the next 1.5 miles. Then, he
passed me one last time and took off. I wanted to stay with him but those two surge
earlier took more out of my legs than I realized.
By the time I came out of the woods,
Andrew had put a good 30 to 40 seconds on me.
Say what you want about the trails at
the Whitewater Center, having the finish going around the channel is
awesome. Most people might not realize it but this section is net downhill.
Meaning, we all probably finish a little better than we should. I
guess that's the trade off for busting “but” on the trails.
My time was 45:23 for 6 OA, and 1st
in my age group. Overall, this is a nice start to my summer racing
season.
The Cool Down Runner
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