An Epic Finale

Today's Run: 5km through Bangor
Time Finished: 20 minutes, 19 seconds (6 minutes, 33 seconds per mile)
Type of run: Road Race
Miles this week: 39.73


Running in my home turf can be fun...if the weather is bearable.


The sharp chill of the air made the wet, just-under-40-degree weather a lot harder to bear. It was only after the race was done that I felt reasonably warm enough to resist the wind and rain. It was because of the weather that I imagine many who wished to run didn' show up - I expeted at least 100, and I think there were barely 80 finishers.


The race starts by wrapping around the block where the old Freese's department store was in Pickering Square. Main Street becomes the course for about a quarter mile before ascending up a steep State Street hill. This is pretty much the taskmaster that puts people in line - anyone overconfident and unaware of the course will get humbled fast. The run continues down State Street until Eastern Maine Medical Center, then makes a sharp right turn onto Hancock Street, contunuing the right angle until the road meets the railroad tracks against the waterfront. It's mostly straight and steadily downhill right through to mile 2 and under the Bank of America building. Mile 3 weaves through parking lots, garages, and overpasses of all sorts until the Sea Dog Tavern, then the scenery opens up so there's a clear view of the river. A couple of right turns puts the runners on Summer Street and up a hill that takes out a lot of reserve energy, but once that hill is finished, it's all downhill to the parking garage and the finish line.


There were no mile markers but there were kilometer markers, which changed the timing strategy a bit - the new goal was to get as close to 4 minutes per kilometer as possible. My first kilometer was 4:15 in large part to that hill, but my next one put me at 8 minutes even, back on track. The third kilometer was steady at 4 minutes and the fourth one had me at about 3:50. This made my last kilometer a fairly disappointing 4:30, begging the question if the 5K is actually a little longer than 5 kilometers. In spite of whatever distance it turned out to be, it was still a good run - 20:19 - my best in the three years I've run it.


It was good to run with my mentor/coach in a race again, even if he slowly distanced himself from me throughout the race. He gave me some tips and advice for running over the next 6-7 weeks along with some preparations for the Marathon in late February.


This is my last 5K until the Irish Road Rover in Portland in early march. Though right now my sights are set for 3 important races before that, I can't wait until I get to the St. Patrick's time of the year. That's when the running really gets fun.