Salemfest 5k or A 5k is not a 5k until JJ measures It

Saturday morning I cycled on my bike for 30 minutes in lieu of a regular running warmup and then headed over to Woodbury Junior HS for the 2nd annual Salemfest 5k. I noticed JJ and Patrick Ard finishing up their warmup as I parked my truck. After a quick registration and pit stop, I managed a half mile warmup but felt pretty good as the spin earlier in the morning seemed to help out my legs.

After a "Go" command the field took off (and JJ) and I found myself in 4th place with Patrick Ard (Whirlaway). The course was flat and winding and covered about 3 neighborhoods in Salem. I was pretty familiar with the streets but totally clueless on the course so I just tried to maintain contact with Patrick. I missed the mile split but by the time on my watch it was at about 6 minutes into the race when Ard pulled away and by this time JJ was completely out of sight. For the remainder of the race, I was just holding my pace and at the turn around I got a chance to high five JJ as he was cruising to a 14:54 effort. I did get a 10:54 2 mile split and was really happy with that but wasn't sure if I could finish strong. Towards the end I heard the race announcer and the crowd cheering JJ to his victory. I was climbing the only hill (bump) on the course and tried to finish strong. Ard was 2nd in 15:59 and I was 3rd at 16:48 just 2 seconds off a masters PR. I was a bit beat but recovered with a 3.16 mile warmdown over the course.

Tuesday AM 4 miles in 30:00 out to Derry (Webber Forest) turned around and did 10 x 1:00 with 1:00 rest. Each minute was run at about 75% effort and was unmeasured as I am not currently concerned with speed but just working on form at an increased tempo. The last two were difficult and my left hammy was tightening up but during the final 6 minutes of the run everything was feeling better. 8 miles. 55 minutes. (Last 4 in 25:00)