WTC Capitol Mile

Decided to eat a grilled cheese sandwich and some chips.....then do a one mile race around the Capitol square. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Surprisingly, I couldn't talk Jennifer into giving it a try. (she's too smart to be lured into such foolishness.) She did agree to come along to take some pic's though. I should probably mention I hadn't run for the month leading up to this.....

Luckily the masters race didn't start until 4:15, so I had plenty of time to register, and get decent warm-up in. I also got to use the restroom in the Capitol...quite an upgrade from the usual porta-potties.

I watched a few of the other categories prior to my race. The mens open was won by a 20 something guy....with a time of 4:14. Even young kids were putting in competitive times....this did not bode well for me.

We finally line up for the start of the masters race. I recognize another racer from some of my duathlons. Again, not a good sign, as he always finishes ahead of me. The start was pretty fast, as expected. I tried to settle into about 6th place or so. I felt good for most of the first lap, but the uphill section started to take it out of me. The lead group of 5 gapped me by about 15 yards. I managed to maintain that gap, but couldn't close it down. The last turn into the finish had my legs feeling like noodles. Aerobically I was doing ok, but my legs weren't used to the speed.
I ended up being passed by two guys, and a really fast girl....all in the last 75 yards or so. I ended up with a decent time of 5:25. I was pretty happy with that, considering I hadn't run in a month or so.

I was completely and totally done after the race. I couldn't stop coughing for 30 minutes, and generally felt pretty crappy. I guess that's what happens when you decide to run a fast mile after eating a grilled cheese, and not running for a month.
I think if I focus more on this race for next year, I could go sub 5 minutes. The winner of the masters race came in at 4:56, so I think I'd have a chance.
Overall, not a bad afternoon, sure beat sitting on the couch watching tv.

Here's a link to the results.

I'll post some pic's soon.