Hudson Run for the Parks 4mi Race Report

<- The race course, from my Garmin watch. The small loop towards the end is only 0.8 mi but it feels much longer. Maybe because of the all the turns and twisting or because it is later in the race. After exiting the part, the finish is only 0.5 mi away.

The Hudson Run for the Parks 4 mi race was this Saturday. The race is sponsored by Vertical Runner. I have run this race in 2004 (Inaugural) and last year (2007). This year I signed up to run with wife (Liz) and daughter (Lea). Lea had not trained well for the race, running only a mile or two, a couple of times a week. Liz has been injured since last week and could not run well but she was going to try. I was OK but have not done any speedwork since I had the marathon 3 weeks ago. Last year I ran a very fast race and I knew there was no way to match it in a hot day like this.

It was sunny and hot! Temperature at 8 am was 80F when we left home. Parking was no problem and it looked like there were less people than last year. I saw Cindy and a couple of people from the Vertical Runner group. While standing around we were trying to figure out what the chances for award were for Lea.

The race started 9:10. I was running fast behind Mike at 6:30 pace or faster. It did not feel that fast. Soon Mike pulled a bit ahead. At mile 1 we had the first water stop. I tried to grab a cup but I missed and it fell down. We continued to run through Hudson residential streets until mile 2.6 when we entered a park. This is the part where I usually do my attack. Like last year, I passed a couple of runners, including the top Female runner (Tracy) during an uphill.

Also like last year, this part inside the park feels really long (Lea agreed too) but it is only 0.8 mi long. There is water in the entry and exit (a welcome relief!) After exiting from the park we only have about ½ mile to go. The finish is on a street going downhill. I could hear someone coming from behind. I thought it was Tracy, but as it turns out it was a young kid trying to get ahead. I accelerated and entered the finish first, but the final results show me behind him.

Anyway, my time was 26:55. This was more than a minute slower than last year, but good enough to get me 10th place overall and 1st age group award, in a smaller field. Here are the results compared to previous years:

2004 26:34 (6:38) 33/298, no AG!
2007 25:47 (6:29) 14/169, 2nd AG
2008 26:55 (6:44) 10/95, 1st AG

Mile 2008 2007 Difference
1 6:31 6:15 -16
2 6:41 6:30 -11
3 6:53 6:37 -16
4 6:50 6:43 -7

So I ran each mile about 10 to 15 seconds slower than last year. I think I need some speed work to get back to faster times in short distances.

Wife Liz had to abandon the race right away. Daughter Lea did her running/walking routine and finished at 42:59 (10:45 pace). This is faster than her first 5K race (11:02 pace) but slower than her second 5K race (9:17 pace, she did not walk). She did not win an award (4th in her age group) but is still excited about running.

<- Like last year, my award was a plant! This is appropriate for a "Run for the Parks" race.

After the race we stayed around for the awards. Like last year, my award was a plant. Also, in this race instead of a shirt we got a pair of socks. And an energy drink. It is nice to get things we can use and we all have to many race shirts anyway.

Our next race is next week. Both Lea and myself have signed up for the Jim Klett race next Saturday (I am running the 10K, she is running the 5K). Liz has a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday. She is a bit depressed that she is missing these races and running. Let’s hope the doctor will find out what is wrong and how to fix it.