I kicked off the start to my spring vacation week with a race in Concord NH. This was an "old school" style event with a low entry fee and just the right amount of amenities (an accurate course and results). Coach Perry from NHTI and his wife were directing this 1 mile race with every entrant getting to select a hat that Mrs. Seagrove had made. Every hat was unique. There were a lot of folks milling about checking out the hats at registration trying to plan what they would select if it were available since selections would be made as you crossed the finish and got into the gym. Too funny. I got an enthusiastic hello from Kara and a funny "who's that" from her daughter. It was nice seeing the whole family out racing and having fun.
I drove the course prior to picking up my number and was happy to see that Perry had placed cones (with hats) at each 1/4 mile. He had wheeled the course, so it would definitely be the correct distance. There was a net of about 20' of difference between the start and finish but there was a tough little bump about 600 meters in and the final 200 meters would also be uphill. I wasn't sure what to expect at this distance but having run under 5:50 for a downhill mile during the Claddagh race I figure lower 5:40's would be about right.
I headed out for a 3 mile warm-up checking out a nice trail that ran through the woods behind the Concord Hospital. After that I got into race gear and headed out for a loop of the course (about 1.3 miles for the full loop). I got a bit nervous as I was still a couple of minutes away and I could see that they were about to start. I got there just as they thanked us for coming. It was a little drizzly but the temps were perfect and this was going to be fun.
There was a little confusion at the start after saying "ready, set" Mrs. S. decided that maybe the timers weren't ready so instead of "go" she said "hold it" and of course pretty much everyone on the start line jumped the gun. There was a lot of laughing as we regrouped and then tried that again. I had lined up on the right side since we took a left turn about 20 or 30 yards into the race. I did not want to get tangled up. It was a good call as all the youngsters took it out blazing. I was not in the top 10 for the first 200m then slowly moved up. By the first 1/4 mark I had moved up to 5th or 6th and some were still coming back. The leader was already 10 seconds up by the quarter. I got around a couple of more kids on the little uphill and one tucked right behind me as we pushed down to the 1/2 mile. It was funny because of the straightness of the road I could see the 3/4 as we passed the 1/2. I was in 3rd place but had one kid right on me and was worried that I would have not kick. As we turned the corner just after the 3/4 I tried to work the uphill and slowly started gaining on 2nd place as the guy behind me fell back. I held my position hitting the line in 3rd place in 5:38. I'm pleased as this is very close to my best (non-downhill) 1m from last year (a 5:37 with Eric Morse on the track).
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