Though I improved on last year’s race, I was once again bummed at my race time. I was hoping to pick up where I left off last year by finishing around 26:00. My wife says I should be happy since the two weeks prior training consisted of two 1.5 miles runs and 3 flag football games.

My doctor did very well finishing 3rd in his age division with a race time of 21:01. Congrats to Bill.

I will miss the Chili Run this year, but hoping to do better in Jiggle Bell Jog.

I enjoyed this race more than the others because I knew more people in the race. Our friends Heather and Jay ran as well as several church members.

I am done running races for a while; though I am thinking about the Atlanta Peachtree Road Race on July 4th.

To finish in the top three of my age catergory, I would have to ran the race under 22:50.  The winner of the race finished in 17:29.  Very impressive.

How did I move up from 117th to 58th from one race to the next? There is a good reason: the 15K race. Or better yet: the lack of the 15K race. The RiverFront Run did not have one. So now, I am assuming I was running against 15K & 5K runners in the last race since I saw a number of faces that looked familiar from the last run.

My goal was to beat 27 minutes today. Though I did not accomplish it, I did manage to shave off 1 minute 45 seconds from the RiverFront Run. The Chili Run course did not help me. The three or four block uphill incline to finish the race was a nice surpise. Albany does not have hills, buts any elevation changes on the course will get you if you are reguarly running a relative flat course.

I also learned something about a 5K race this week. They setup the water tables along the race at the one and two mile markers.

1) Back in high school at South Cobb (1987), I was on the track team. I ran the 100, 200, 400, 400 meter relay and the mile relay. All of those races were full on sprints. The fastest one to finish line wins. Don’t worry about conserving energy, finish as fast as you can. I loved the short races and hated the days when the coaches made us practice the long stuff.

Early in my senior year, I decided to “get serious” about track. So, I ran cross country in the fall so I would be in better shape once track season arrived. Each race was a 5K or about 3.2 miles. I still had to “run fast” but also had to converse energy so I could finish the race without burning out.

2) I started running again sometime this summer in late July or early August. Actually, I started walking and then slowing worked in some running. Stress, getting too heavy and too much time in front of a computer help lead to this choice. I try to run 5 days a week and go about 2 miles.

Now the story.

Saturday, I ran in my first 5K since high school. My one goal was to run the whole race without stopping, walking or resting. My time was not a big concern. Placing was not even an option.

I am happy to say that I met my goal. According to the official results, I finished 117 out of 239 runners with the time of 29 minutes 14 seconds 30 milliseconds. My track coaches would not be happy with a 10 minute mile, but considering the inadequate training I am OK with it.

The race was the RiverFront Run here in Albany which helps with cancer research.