Saturday marked the end of my 2007 inaugural racing season with the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler here in Baltimore. It was held up in Druid Hill Park, near the Maryland Zoo, and some of it was run on the same course as the Zoo Zoom that I ran back in mid-November. I had several goals coming into this race:
Run a PR and avenge my so-so showing at the Zoo Zoom.
Gain a better handle on my pacing in a race environment. One of my biggest challenges this Fall has been running too easy for too long in a race and not going as hard as I can.
Stay in the zone and remain constant and present in my racing.
Saturday morning I woke up a little early because I was anxious about the race. It gave me a little more time to get dressed and wake up, though, so that was good. The Weather Channel, which is my new best friend now that I am running outside all the time, said it was 29 degrees outside, so I put on my compression shorts, running tights, and long sleeved shirt. I packed my blue fleece, hat and gloves but put on my track pants and North Face jacket for warmth before the race. Sure enough, when I got to the race, it was pretty cold, but the sun was out a little, and that helped things.
There were tons of people there! The final count was something like 1900 runners, which was much larger than I anticipated. As a result, I got a half decent parking spot. The race was organized beautifully and they had shuttles from the parking areas to the starting line, which was fantastic. I got to the tent and picked up my bib and chip without any trouble and took my time getting my warm-ups off and fleece on, etc. I checked my bag and tried to eat the PowerBar I brought with me. Unfortunately, it was so cold out that the bar was like a slightly gelatinous rock, so I was only able to eat half of it.
As I walked through the crowds, I saw a variety of runners, from the very serious to the recreational. I saw one guy sitting on the curb meditating, which was interesting. He picked the worst place to center his mind because there were people running and yelling all around him. I saw another guy practicing Tai-Chi in the parking lot. There was a guy playing the bagpipes, but it was so cold that he couldn’t warm them up enough to really play much. Another guy was dressed in a kilt and had some swords that he clanged together to get people hyped up. They were at the starting line psyching people up.
I then ran a short warm up run up the first hill of the course, coming back down and then went out into a neighborhood briefly before coming back to the starting area. By that time it was 8:25. I was nice and warmed up. People began crowding up to the starting line but I laid back in the very back, focusing on my goals. This was my last race of the season and I wanted to make some real physical and mental progress before going into the hard training of January and February.
It took almost 5 minutes from the time the horn sounded to the time I crossed the line, and even then, my first mile was spent dodging other runners and passing people. I tucked in behind these two guys who were gradually increasing their speed. I knew they’d eventually leave me behind, but I drafted them so I could pass more people more quickly. After that though, it started to thin out and I was able to get into a groove. I still spent most of the race passing people, which is a bother and perhaps might lead me to start in the middle of the pack for the Shamrock 5K in March. However, it was gratifying not to be passed by anyone the entire way.
Mile 1 came in at 9:34, which was a product of passing people and getting caught behind some slow groups at the start. Mile 2 came in at 8:43, which is a good race pace for me at this point. In fact, my goal was to keep it around 9:00 per mile, but I never really got super exhausted while staying under 9 minutes, so I kept it as steady as possible in the 8:45 range. I was happy that I took my own water along for the run because there was only one water stop, about halfway through the race. It kept me hydrated throughout the run, which definitely helped me mentally, if not physically. I also got to skip the water station and keep my focus on running.
Mile 3 was undulating up and down through some of the same paths I had run at the Zoo Zoom, so they were somewhat familiar to me. Mile 3.5-4.75, roughly, was spent running around the big lake in the park. It seemed like that path just kept going and going and never turned back, but eventually we got back to the entry point and the rest of the race was downhill. I kept it under control during the downhill but then really picked it up once I reached the final straightaway. According to my Garmin, my pace dipped close to 5 minutes per mile at that point!
While I had maintained my focus on my time goal throughout the race, I never let myself get comfortable with my pace. I always monitored it and calculated my chances at making a PR at all times. Only when I reached the end of the lake loop did I look at my watch and know that I was going to beat my record. At that point I dropped it another gear and tried to pick up a few more seconds.
I crossed the finish line in 43:38, besting my 5 Mile PR by more than 2 minutes, which was intensely gratifying to me. The food after the race was pretty decent too: Kool-Aid, donuts, chips, cookies, fruit and other snacks. I didn’t stick around though and made my way home after changing back into my warmer clothes.
I really enjoyed this race and will definitely do it next year. It was really well organized, the course was challenging but fast, and even though I didn’t spend $45 for the race and the Brooks running jacket (I only spent $10 for the race), the jackets looked cool. The race director sent out numerous e-mails in the week leading up to the race to communicate parking arrangements, packet pick up times and other details about race day. It made for a smooth day for runners, and a great race overall. If you live in the DC-Baltimore area, I would encourage you to run this race, although you’ll have to register early because it fills up fast and I register for all my races months in advance!
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