Blog Master G

On the heels of the SF Marathon, I ran my third 5k this morning – the First Annual Fasig-Tipton 5k right here in Saratoga Springs – and I destroyed my previous PR (set in April’s Dodge the Deer) by more than a minute (1:14)!

I set out to run sub-20 and I nailed my goal with nearly 30 seconds to spare. Not only did I set a new PR by clocking in at 19:31 (official time) / 19:31 (Garmin data), but I won my division and placed 10th 11th overall (results updated after Sunday) out 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 win).

Not a bad showing, I’d say.

All that and, according to the McMillan Running Calculator, I’m now officially ready to run that 3:10 marathon that will qualify me for Boston! My official 19:31 5k time predicts a 3:10:16 marathon. Oh, yes!

Held in my neighborhood, the 5k route this morning covered many of the roads I typically run in training, so I had a bit of a home court advantage. Starting outside the Fasig-Tipton horse auction pavilion, the route headed south toward the Saratoga Track, took a left on Union Ave. along the track, shot down a nice hill onto Henning – followed by a gradual uphill along Henning – left on 5th up the only steepish hill of the course (a hill I run often), and powered along 5th to a couple of final turns on Nelson, George, Ludlow, Madison, then back around the corner on East for the finish.

The first mile was a fast one, and I clocked in a blazing 6:06. The pack and I slowed a bit in the ascent along Henning (6:41, my slowest of the day), and I made my move leading to and on the steep hill up 5th since I didn’t want to get stuck in a slowing pack. I got some surprised looks as I cruised up the hill. In the final fast mile (6:24), I held a steady pace, picking it up gradually toward the finish with two runners ahead of me in my sight. I was determined to pass at least one.

In the final stretch down Madison Ave., I made my final move, passing a runner in front of me and turning on my final kick around the quick turn to the finish – with my signature sprint across the line (4:59 pace in the final 0.1 mile).

It was a toasty 70-degree morning, but I couldn’t have asked for a much better race. Only thing I would’ve done differently would have been to turn it on a bit more in the final half-mile or so.

Big thanks, as always, to my personal race photographer and biggest fan, Jen, and her partner in crime, Happy Dingo, for waking up early to cheer me on (if not for a minor toe incident earlier in the week, I have no doubt Jen would’ve nailed a PR this morning, too)!

For my division win, I got a Saratoga chair, clubhouse passes to the track, and a gift card to Forno Toscano or Chianti – great prizes!

Congrats, fellow runners!

Split data: