ShoreTurtle – Running in and around New Jersey

Hamilton Hangover 5 Mile Run – Hamilton, New Jersey

January 1st, 2010 Posted in Hamilton Area Trail Runners, Running Races

Race results are published at http://www.compuscore.com/cs2010/janmar/hamhng11.htm.

We had great weather today for the Hamilton Hangover 5 Mile Run. There were around 400 participants. The temperature was in the upper 30s with partly cloudy skies. At the race start, I met up with Karen and Yasi from the Hamilton Area Trail Runners. I ran this race back in 2008 so my goal today was to beat my previous time of 40:24. I was encouraged by my 4 mile race in December and felt that a 5 mile PR might be possible.

I dressed perfectly for the conditions. I wore shorts, a long sleeve top and a hat with gloves. I carried a bottle of Gatorade. There are no water stops during the race so the Gatorade helped. I also carried my camera, but I didn’t take any photos during the race because I was running hard.

The course was entirely on the paved paths within Veterans Park. The path was mostly clear, though there were several spots with puddles or slush. I was glad that I wore my trail shoes. The course had a couple of turnarounds so I got to see the lead runners and also members of the trail group a couple of times.

I forgot to check my 5 Mile PR time prior to the race, but I knew that it was 37 minutes and change. My splits for the first four miles were: 7:41, 7:24, 7:22 & 7:21. At the 4 mile mark, my split was 29:48. I tried to calculate in my head what I would need for that last mile. I’m not so good at math, especially while running. I wasn’t sure that I had my fastest mile of the race in me. I decided to run as hard as I could that last mile and in exchange I wouldn’t be disappointed with myself if I missed it.

As I made the final turn for the last tenth of a mile, I heard Frank from the trail group cheering me on–he was a couple of minutes ahead of me the entire race. I kicked into another gear and crossed the line with a time of 36:56, setting a 5 mile PR. My last mile was 7:08. When I got home, I looked up my race results and found that my previous 5 mile PR was 37:14 set at the 2007 Spring Lake 5. I shaved 18 seconds from my previous best.

I’m so glad that I decided to race today. I didn’t pre-register which left open the possibility of me skipping it. The late start time of 12:30pm and the fact that the park is so close to my house ultimately left me with no excuses. It was fun to see a contingent of Hamilton Area Trail Runners at the race.

It was a great way to start 2010. Happy new year!