Race report: 2013 Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor's Run

Seconds after crossing the line

photo courtesy of The Petite Pacer

Today's run (Town of Oyster Bay 5K): 3.1 miles - 28:39

This morning I ran the Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor's Run for the third time and had a great time. My performance was puzzling because I thought I'd do better than I did. I had an RPR (reverse PR - just made that up), having run my slowest ever 5K. Aside from that, it was great. I met The Petite Pacer for the first time in person and she was every bit as personable and charming as she is on her blog.

The morning started out well. I arrived a few minutes before 8:00 AM and parked at the high school. It's a fairly short walk the hill up to the Community Center where they do registration and hand out race numbers and sweatshirts (hoodies this year!). I gave them my name, but it wasn't on the list. After being referred to some GLIRC volunteers, I realized I'd never actually signed up. Not too smart of me. The GLIRC people were incredibly nice and gave me a race number after I'd filled in a registration slip. They didn't even ask for money, but I had the cash on me and insisted they take it.

After pinning my race bib, I ran into The Petite Pacer. We headed toward the starting line that's located about a quarter mile away on South Street. TPP suggested doing some strides so we ran a few hundred meters and returned to the starting area a couple of minutes before 9:00 AM. Our position was at the front and I mentioned that we should probably move back to keep from getting run over by the 6 minute milers.

The race started, but I found it hard to move in the crowd. I regretted suggesting that we move back before. TPP broke away and I saw her farther ahead before losing sight of her as we turned on Berry Hill Rd. I could not get past the clumps of runners ahead of me and I think it lengthened my first mile time quite a bit. According to my Garmin, I ran the first mile at 9:35 and came through mile 2 around 19:18. I did the last 1.1 miles in 8:21.

I thought I was in better shape for this race and didn't struggle on the long hill, so I was puzzled by my time. The hill gets steeper after the first mile and I remember feeling the increased burden. Still, I felt like I was maintaining a decent stride. I obviously made up a lot of time on the mostly downhill second half and passed a lot of people along that pretty tree-lined road. The peacefulness was broken only by a runner behind me who was singing loudly and off key to the music on his iPod.

All hope of finishing under 27:50 (which would put me below a 9 minute pace) was dashed when I saw the 3 mile clock. I pushed as hard as I could and crossed the line at 28:39. TPP was already there, having finished a few minutes before me. She videoed my crossing the line which was an unexpected surprise. I'll return the favor the next time I finish before her, which will probably be never.

Post race recovery with TPP

TPP and I got our time slips and I saw my official pace - 9:13. It was far slower than I expected to run this race. Last year I averaged 8:22 per mile. I have not had a good year in terms of race times but I still have a few more races on the schedule to improve my standings.

More important than my time was the great experience I had with the kind volunteers who helped me get registered and the opportunity to spend some time with The Petite Pacer. Tomorrow I'll get out and go as far and fast as I feel like running. That's the best part of a Saturday race. You have a bonus day to do another weekend run.