Good rustbuster - St. Malachi 5 Mile

I opened up my 2009 racing season with a solid effort at the St. Malachi 5 miler. I was the 2nd master and 11th overall in a field of 1500+. Conditions were not the best -- 30F and pretty windy -- but I ran a solid, even paced effort on a very hilly course. All of my miles were in between 5:45-5:52 so I seem to have a good sense of pacing, which I was afraid I might have lost as this was my first race in 4 months. They seemed to change up the course a little bit from last year and I felt like there were more uphills this time, but maybe I'm just getting senile. Anyway, while my time was 20 seconds slower than last year I felt like the 'effort' was better. I thought all the snow had melted in Cleveland, but there were still a few icy spots in some sections of the course in the Flats! Next up is the Meteor 10K in Michigan on April 4. Hopefully Spring will kick in and I can get some decent workouts in over the next few weeks. There was a race photographer present, so if any decent shots of me turn up, I'll update this entry.



















early (first mile): passing people who went out too hard.



















They call the neighborhood where the race took place, The Flats, but there was nothing flat about this race!



















Bringing it home up that last big hill.



















Finally there. I thought I was going to puke at the finish line but I just dry heaved!