Race Report - 25:12 - Run for the Animals - Wheaton, Illinois

Run for the Animals - Wheaton, Illinois

• Time - 25:12 (8:07)
• Place - 282
• Age group - 19/59

68°F
Clear
Wind: S at 6 mph
Humidity: 93%

Mile 1 - unknown
Mile 2 - 16:08
Mile 3 - unknown

Summary
My goal was 25:00. I ran 25:12. Close, and better than my recent 25:22, but not a 25:00. Next time.

Starting the race, without the advantage of knowing my pace, was hard. I tried running briefly with Lee, a seasoned marathoner from the Jim Spivey Running Club, but realized he was going too fast for me. Apparently, according to my two mile split, I was on track, but slowed greatly during mile 3. Lee seems to have slowed a lot after the 3 mile mark, given his finishing pace of 8:21. He had some injuries lately that may have acted up.

Humidity took its toll.

The winner, Kyle Brady, finished in 15:21, knocking off 19 seconds from last year's third place at 15:40. Not bad at 18 years-old.

Comparing numbers, though, it was slower than last year's winning time (15:15). In fact, at every number point, times were slower. Fewer runners finished as well. My own time would have earned me 30/94 in my age group, and 337th overall in 2006. Was the humidity that big of a factor?

My friend Bob V. finished nicely in the 10K with an excellent sprint the final 300 meters, taking out at least four competitors before hitting the chip pad. He ended with 44:34 (7:11), pretty good for a humid day.

Jim Spivey Running Club pals all did well. Rudi took home hardware, winning his (and my) age group).

10K
128 place -Margaret Ford - 5/52 (age group) 46:46 (7:32) - PR!
238 place - Lee Crumbaugh - 5/16 (age group) 51:48 (8:21)

5K
46 place - Rudi Schick 1/59 (age group) 19:58 (6:26)

The basics are I need a better distance base. That takes time; my muscles will not grow faster because of will power. I also need to find a bit of speed. By the end of June, I want to have knocked off a minute, and jogging won't cut it. I need to average a 7:44 mile, and to do that, I need to, I think, be able to run under 7:00 for one mile. Rudi averaged 6:26. I have not even run one mile at that pace.

Soon.