As I have done every year for more than a decade, on December 8 I ran the Xmas City Classic 5 Miler right here in Bethlehem, PA. Most years this is an end of the year fun run that matters little. I wouldn't even call it a "C" race ... it's more like an excuse to go out to breakfast with friends (not that we need an excuse). Last year I paced a friend to a PR. This year, after a DNF at my last race of the year, I was looking to see what I could do.
Going in I decided to run hard, but smart, and see what I had. If the hamstring issue that caused the DNF was even remotely an issue I would back off and call it a day. After five weeks of very little running I had no idea what to expect.
About five minutes after the 5k race started the gun went off for the 5 mile race. At a smaller race I normally start right at the front. Today, for some reason, me and The Mayor started back a bit. It didn't make much of a time difference, but it did make things a bit more congested for the first half mile. This is compounded at this race due to two turns in the first 1/4 mile.
Approximately 3/4 of a mile in we turn off of Church Street onto Main Street and are greeted with a nice little climb. Remembering that I want to play it smart and not blow up, I backed off a notch, hitting the mile mark in a still fast for me 6:11. The road turned down and then flat for about two miles before an incline up to the New Street Bridge. I spent these miles slowly passing people and trying to maintain a steady, maintainable hard pace. At the turnaround on Sand Island I passed a few people I knew - including Kate and The Mayor - who all looked better than I was feeling. The real work was ahead of us and I was unsure of how I would manage the hills. Fortunately, I had a rabbit in front of me.
Seems that every year I run this race I am around one of the local stud female runners. And there she was in front of me as we hit the hill up to the bridge. While she didn't comeback at me she wasn't increasing her lead either. With the field spread out, it was nice to have someone close enough to keep me focused. We ran over and back with the female stud 10 seconds in front.
After the bridge we hit "the hill" ... formerly called Center Street. Once the road turned up I definitely slowed down a bit, but I wasn't losing ground to the female stud. Somehow my legs were still ok. When we turned back onto Church Street I surged a bit and caught up to her, we spoke a bit, and then I had enough of a kick to finish just ahead of her on the day. A few minutes later The Mayor was through the finishers shoot.
After a few minutes we went back out to find The Queen who was also racing. Much to our surprise, we found her real quick as she raced in for a 47:25 finish and a 4+ minute PR to boot!!! And she looked good doing it. As for me, I finished in 32:33 for25th place overall, 3rd in AG40-44, and a happy camper.
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