It started as a chilly morning at Rogers Park in Danbury
but the sun was shining and it soon warmed up after the race started. I was excited to race for the first time in
over a year. Prior to the race I was able to meet up with Kevin Grimes who is
the director for the Race for Chase Program and a very accomplished runner/
triathlete.
I had a soft time goal for the race of averaging a 10:00
per mile pace or a 2:11:00 time for the race. My strategy was to hold a good
pace until I got the hills and then hold on until mile 10. The final 3 mile
stretch I would try to hold a good pace for the last 5k.
The race started with an easy rolling loop around the
park for about 2 miles then headed towards Bethel (the town I grew up in). The
course was relatively flat and fast for the first 7.5 miles. I was on pace to
run a much faster time than 2:11:00 so I adjusted my plan accordingly. I was
feeling strong five miles in and decided that I was going to run 9:30 miles
until the hills. At mile 8 I was dead on to that pace.
The hills were crushing. I watched my watch as my pace
dropped off to 10:00 minutes per mile. Lots of volunteers on the course assured
us that the hills were almost over but they all seem to have miscalculated
there assessment of the course. Finally after mile 10 the hills broke and I
started a long fast decent back into Danbury.
I finished the run strong at 2:09:39. Not a PR or a great
time by any stretch but I meet my goals for the day and I got back into racing
again.
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