Yesterday, in Colleyville, Texas, I did my fourth footrace of the fall: a 5K. My right hip is aching, so I couldn't run as fast as I wanted, but I managed to complete the course at a 7:00.06 mile pace. (Elapsed time = 22:40.5.) I based this on my Garmin GPS device, which showed that I ran 3.24 miles. If the course was accurate (3.107 miles), my mile pace was 7:17.88. I asked the race organizer whether the course was long, and he said it was, though he didn't know how long. I also asked another runner, who said it was long. I'm going with 7:00.06. I know I did the first mile in 6:52, so it seems right. According to the race organizer, a police officer sent us down the wrong street in the final mile.
Weather conditions were perfect for racing. It was cool (almost cold) and sunny, with little wind. I was pretty sure that two of the men in front of me were in my age group. I thought I might win the third-place award, but when I saw the results list, I learned that three 50-year-old men I've never heard of got first, second, and third. Damn kids! I finished sixth of 10 men in my age group (50-54). Overall, I was 17th of 162 finishers. So look at it this way: Five of the 16 people ahead of me were in my age group. Them's the breaks.
Incidentally, the red shoe depicted in this post is en route to me. Nice, eh?
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 