Arlington Run for Hope 5k

Quite an adventurous 5k this morning. Went off course, took a nosedive and ran my worst time of the year. Still finished 2nd in my age group (which ain't sayin' much, given the amount of runners.)

They changed the course this year. It's an out-and-back (as usual), and on the way out, it's clearly marked. On the way back, not so much. I was trailing a gal and didn't realize that she had gone off course. We got to one of those plastic flexible fences, which we had to hurdle in order to get back on course. She succeeded. I bit it hard. The trail, at that point, was pea gravel. I got a lot of it lodged within a nice hole in the palm of my hand (and got a nice road rash on my leg, to boot). Bruised my ego nearly as much as my hand and leg.

Sorry, folks. I hope you're not eating...

I lost both my momentum and my desire at that point. My plan, as usual, was to go out slow and run progressive splits. I ended up with:

7:41, 7:21, 7:22 (7:32 pace for last .18) - 23:47

Heart rate - average: 155, max: 164 

Ah, well, it was a beautiful morning. It still beats inactivity. It was also great to have the company of my friend & running clubmate Dan (who ran considerably faster. And stayed upright.)

I'll admit, though, that I still can't get used to racing this slow (I know, it's all relative, but I've slowed down considerably thanks to my long-term injury.) Got to figure out how to somehow increase my speed without the ability to put in a lot of miles and w/o too much speedwork.

I'm thinking EPO & testosterone...