Al’s Run
the first three miles of Al’s Run can be a bit tricky and will put you in a real bind if you start too fast. i was a bit cautious and rolled through the first mile just behind my friend dave as we made our way into a bit of a headwind.
we cruised down the 400 foot drop in elevation and safely navigated a ragged section of cobblestone stretching across the road. passing the one mile mark, i glanced at my watch and was a bit surprised at seeing a slower than planned 6:12 staring back at me.
for the second and most of the third mile we climb a series of hills which nets a 600 foot gain in elevation before sliding down Lafayette Hill. i was able to catch a few people through this section and when it came time to roll downhill i was able to lean forward, pick up my cadence and get a bit of momentum going as i headed into the fourth mile.
at best, we faced a crosswind as we ran southbound on Lincoln Memorial Drive. it was nice from the standpoint that we weren’t running into a headwind but it was getting a bit hot. i was able to maintain a solid pace through this section and got a bit of a lift from the cheerleaders yelling as we passed by.
the course zig zags a bit for the last mile with the last left turn leaving a straight shot down two city blocks to the finish line. i rounded that last corner and could see the finish line clock ticking in the low 30’s. digging a bit deeper, i picked up the pace for a final push and ducked under the finish before it rolled to the next minute.
my finishing time of 30:56 ends up being my fastest 8K/5M race effort in nine years and i narrowly missed my best Al’s Run time from 1991. (30:45)
Splits
1M – 6:12
2M – 6:03 (12:15)
3M – 6:15 (18:30)
4M – 6:13 (24:43)
4.97M – 6:13 (30:56)
hanging around the finish line area was nice as i had a chance to catch up with some friends of mine that i don’t get to see often.
after getting home, a quick check of the results posted online showed that the team i was competing on placed first in the corporate division. it was especially cool as i was able to break the good news to the guys at the post-race barbecue.
40th/3063 overall
5th/135 M40-44
1st/44 Corporate Team Division
HillRunner.com – 2:34:12
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#1 – 29:48 Ryan Hill
#2 – 29:58 David Dehart
#3 – 30:56 Jerry Cameron
#4 – 31:11 Marc Woodcock
#5 – 32:19 Edward Pankow
recent training
sept 11 – 4 miles
sept 12 – 6 miles
sept 13 – 5 miles
sept 14 – 4 miles
sept 15 – 1 mile warm up, 8K in 30:56 and 1 mile cool down
sept 16 – 7 miles
MTD – 109.75 miles (14/16 days)
YTD – 1,611 miles (227/260 days)
Odometer – 34,336 miles