Revolutionary Run

The Earth was not in fact changed due to this run. No paradigm shifts have emerged and I still believe that the earth revolves around the sun.

But the "revolutionary" in this run was more likely the reference to the race being held in Valley Forge. From my memory and from what the race organizers were saying, there has not been a race in VF in recent memory, so maybe things did change. VF has alot of trails and roads that wind through rolling hills and beautiful scenery, and it is a popular area to train. And judging from the attendence at this inaugural running (1000+), there is plenty of demand for a race up there. So maybe the people did speak, or literally voted with their feet.

I won't usually travel this far for a 5-miler, but the race was on the Mid Atlantic USATF Grand Prix circuit which the PAC track club is competing in. So myself, Cindy and Tony took the 25 mile trip up there. I got lost driving through the park, and in so doing realized why people love running up here. Everything is now lush green and colored with blooming flowers and trees, with a mist hanging over the fields from the rain the night before. Chilly temps and overcast skies made for good conditions.

A good number of folks up there that I know, and I also got to meet Duncan, a guy who lives and trains up there and has a blog with a following among runners (read it here for another take on this race). Also got to meet another guy, who introduced himself as the guy I dropped on the last hill at Cesar Rodney a few months back. He said there won't be any hill on this course for me to do that again. I couldn't tell if this comment was good-natured or ominous, so made a note to watch my back.

My plan was to do a one mile split that scared me - to, as I told Duncan, "run like an idiot" and then hang on. He suggested, more with body language than words, that this was perhaps not the course to do this, with its many rolling hills. The clock at the mile 1 marker was indeed scary, flashing 5:02, but my stopwatch read a less scary 5:21. After this, though, the hills started and despite my plan I slowed to 5:46, as the lead pack of four to which I was hanging on to moved ahead of me. A quick look behind me saw that my Cesar Rodney rival was behind me in sixth place.

At this point the run was both beautiful and difficult. Ups and downs along narrow roads winding around the park, with deer looking us on (and no doubt thinking how slow humans are) kept my pace at 5:42 (mile 3) and 5:47 (mile 4). Mile 5 was easier, and I took it at 5:21 to get into the finish in just under 28 minutes (27:59). I remained in fifth place the whole race, getting close to #4 at about mile 4 only to get outkicked and never getting challenged from behind (my CR rival apparently didn't need a hill to fade a few places). Duncan came in second, Jeff H, Ira M, Bill K and Joan A, all from PACTC, came in 7th, 13th, 62nd, and 253rd (Bill ran a 3:28 in Boston last week and somehow managed to run this; I last saw Joan 2 weeks ago spectating in Paris). KJ (also now on PACTC) ran his first 5 miler ever in 31:17 and snagged some age group shwag.

All in all a meaningless but entertaining race, so I'm not going to dissect what another 5 mile finish in the high 27s bodes for my running career and the future of humankind.

Cooled down with KJ and Duncan, and hung around and socialized for a bit afterwards as usual before heading back to the city and working off my fitness with a big hot pastrami sandwich from Koch's Deli. We also had dinner with friends later that day at, somewhat ironically, the Marathon grill.

Look what's happening out in the streets [Got a revolution, Got to revolution]
Hey I'm dancing down the streets [Got a revolution, Got to revolution]
Ain't it amazing all the people I meet [Got a revolution, Got to revolution]
One generation got old, One generation got soul
This generation got no destination to hold.

                 ~ Jefferson Airplane