Shamrock Hill 5K Race Report

This past weekend I took part in the Shamrock Hill 5K which I missed last year so I was happy to see how much I could improve over my previous course time in 2012. My running is well ahead of where I started last season so this was a good first test to officially check my progress.

 

The weather this year has been all over the place to say the least but on this particular day we were fortunate enough to have clear skies and a morning temperature at or near 50 degrees which was awesome, but the wind was gusting at 15-20 miles an hour. I knew that Patrick had won this race last year but he was no where to be found, however the last two second place finishers, Lance McDaniel and Andrew Smith, were so I would definitely have some guys to chase.

 

As the gun fired, immediately the three of us rushed to the front and as we took the turn onto Shenandoah Ave. the wind hit us right in the face! I tucked in behind Andrew to shield myself from the wind and we both settled in to our pace as we watched Lance eased away. For the first mile and a half I was content drafting Andrew but knew I would have to make a move soon. I felt pretty good so I jumped and surged on Andrew as we came to the turns leading into the turn around. I was now redlining and eating the headwind on my own just hoping to create enough separation from Andrew to make him willing to allow me to go on without him but to no avail. As we picked up the tailwind on the way back to the finish line he returned the favor and surged on me and I was not able to hold on.

 

In the end, Lance took first, Andrew was second, and I finished third Overall and first place Masters with times that were a little off from last year definitely due to the wind. Even with the wind, my first 5K of this year was sixteen seconds faster than last year so I am well on my way to hopefully finding some more speed as I get closer to Duathlon Nationals in May.