I did it: I won my first race! At least in my division (male 30-34). It was the Polar Cap 4-miler in Lake George, which was the second race I ever ran last year. Coincidentally, I wrote in that blog entry a year ago: “I think it’s realistic for me to aim for a top 3 finish in my age group for one of these races.”
Indeed.
November 2008 brought my first Top 3 finish in the Santa 10k. Last month I placed 2nd in my division in the Winter Wimp. And today I placed 1st! Woohoo! Of the last three local races I’ve run, I’m 3 for 3 in Top 3 finishes.
 I was 13th overall today with a finish time of 27:12 (my Garmin said 27:10) , which is an average pace of 6:48 per mile. I took nearly 7 full minutes off my time last year and nearly 2 minutes per mile.
The course was much hillier than I remembered, with a big hill right at the beginning, then a long ascent in the 3rd mile, which made for my slowest mile of the day (6:57). The final mile had a bit of a downhill and went by pretty fast, so I really turned it on, clocking in a 6:35 4th mile as I flew across the finish line with a maximum pace of 5:20 in the final mile.
In the beginning, I really made an effort not to go out too fast, but I think I may have held back a bit too much (6:52). I tried to make up for it in the second mile (6:38), though. On the first hill I started passing people and ran pretty much a solo race most of the time. I overtook one guy just past the second mile and kept the lead pack in my sight almost all the way home (no one passed me the entire race, which is always a good feeling). I thought I’d be able to pass one more guy in front of me, but he kept a solid lead, so I couldn’t gain on him.
I met a couple nice people — the 2nd overall women’s finisher, who took my finish line photos; and a guy who runs a marina at Lake George.
I felt really good and am still riding the high of victory. I was awarded a gold keychain medal and will carry it with pride.
I went straight to the library, where Jen’s working today, to show off my bling. I was proud, and so was she. It was only a bummer she’s missed my past two races. Darn scheduling.
My Polar Cap 4-miler splits:
- Mile 1: 6:52 (hill)
- Mile 2: 6:38
- Mile 3: 6:57 (hill)
- Mile 4: 6:35
8 responses so far ↓
1 Dan // Feb 19, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Hey Gabe – do you and Jennifer ever go out to eat anymore? The running entries are nice, but I miss your restaurant reviews and commentaries. Take care. Dan
2 Blog Master G // Feb 20, 2009 at 6:04 am
Hey Dan- We do, actually – just went to Chianti recently – but I know I’ve been slacking on my blog lately. 🙂
Thanks for the comment & feedback, though! I appreciate it. And will try to get better about food reviews & other, non-running entries. Others have given me the same input.
3 Dan // Feb 21, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Great Gabe. We might try Limoncella tonight. Take care.
Dan
4 Blog Master G // Feb 22, 2009 at 6:45 am
Did you hit Limoncella, Dan? How was it? We were actually there for the first (and only) time back in November, too, for a friend’s birthday dinner. I thought it was OK, but not great.
5 Dan // Feb 25, 2009 at 7:13 am
Never made it – we ordered takeout from Sushi Thai Garden and curled up on the couch and watched DVRd episodes of both “Jockeys” and “The Office”. Never have had a less than excellent meal at Sushi Thai Garden. Still want to try Limoncella as well as Springwater, now that it is closing. I am hoping they want to go out on a high note.
6 Blog Master G // Mar 1, 2009 at 11:12 am
STG is usually pretty good, though I usually stick to the Thai side of the menu.
I hadn’t heard about Springwater closing.. that’s too bad. I’ve been there a couple times and it’s a really good place.
7 Is it March Already? // Mar 2, 2009 at 4:54 am
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8 Fasig-Tipton 5k 2009 — Blog Master G // Aug 16, 2009 at 9:11 am
[…] of more than 200 239 runners. This was my second time winning my division in a race (February’s Polar Cap was my first division […]