8:30 AM - It was cold this morning in Galway. Only about 30 degrees or so. Gorgeous though. The sun was out. By race time at 9am it was probably mid 40s and still climbing. I ended up wearing a long sleeve shirt which was probably overdressing. My dad came with me to the Stockade-athon 15k race in Schenectady today. It was the fifth time that I've run it and my dad is also a veteran of the race, finishing it seven or eight times, though he hasn't run it in a few years because he broke his toe and had achilles issues. Now instead he goes for long walks with my mom on the backroads. They're doing a 7 mile walk this afternoon actually. (I know they both like the time they spend together :-D) Got to Schenectady around 8:30 and rushed over to the pavilion to pick up my packet and the t-shirt. I was one of the last ones to get the packet I guess. Went and put the bib on my shorts (I like wearing the bib on the shorts instead of the shirt because it minimizes annoyances. Put a PowerGel in my pouch on the Ampiphod and stretched. My dad saw an old coworker across the parking lot, Skip Acox, whom I had not seen since I was about four years old. Skip actually got my dad his first administration job as an assistant principal after he had been a kindergarten teacher for so long. He said it was nice to catch up. Afterwards, made our way out to the starting area. It was a pretty deep field, and the eventual winner actually flew in from Colorado for the race. Shaun Donegan, the winner of all the trail 5ks I did this summer (5k PR about 15:48) ended up getting 16th and about 52:00 time.
THE RACE:
No time for a warm-up. Ankle felt good while I was jogging in place and stretching. I had only run twice in the last two weeks so I didn't know what to expect. Race was supposed to start at 9am but late registrations pushed the start time back five or ten minutes. Eventually the gun went off and we were off, though I had placed myself between the 8:00-9:00 mile markers. Going into the race, I was hoping for: A - sub 1:20, B - sub 1:25, C - sub 1:30
MILE 1: (8:51) The first mile was a bit slow because I was trapped in the ranks. My GARMIN said that I ran an 8:38 first mile which was a bit better. I find it amusing that there are people that will line up contrary to where they should be ability wise. Case in point was a cluster of overweight men in front of me that were talking about running a 1:30 pace, which would have put them farther behind me, more in the 10:00-11:00 range. Had to bide my time until the first hill at the mile 1 mark where ranks start to thin. Saw my dad standing on the left side of the hill and I threw my pair of gloves over to him. He wished me good luck. And we were off.
MILES 2-3: (7:39; 7:38) The next miles were significantly faster. My legs felt fresh and as the first four and change miles are downhill before turning and going uphill, I worked the downhills. Was steadily picking up and spitting out the back all the runners that started too fast. I felt relaxed, calm, cool, and collected as I made my way out of the park and down past the hospital towards the Stockade. Hit the 5k mark in 24:59. Alright! I'll take that to the bank!
MILES 4-5: (7:15; 7:33) Mile 4 brought us into the stockade area. I was cruising on the steep downhills, but was still relaxed and sipping every 5-minutes from the waterbottle. Took water from the aid stations as there was room, but it was better to have my own bottle! As I entered the stockade, unzipped the pouch and took a Vanilla flavored PowerGel. First time I had used this brand and flavor. Not a big fan, but it went down easy enough. Tasted like luke warm soupy pudding. Cruised through mile 5 knowing that the State Street Hill loomed on the horizon. Swung a wide left out onto State Street. Hear it comes.
MILE 6: (8:16) State Street Hill is a massive, multi-tiered hill gaining probably about 300 feet by the time you hit the top. It is an unforgiving hill and many newbies get chewed up and spit out. This was my fifth time running this race so I know what to expect. My biking expertise comes into play on hills. I shorten my stride but keep the same cadence and lean in slightly, keeping my focus about five feet in front of me. Steadily I climb, and albeit slower than some runners, I find by the time I get to the top I am able to recover faster and overtake people that pass me on the uphill. A lot of carnage here on the hill, especially when we round the corner about halfway up and people realize the hill's just begun. I happen to like uphills. So much fun! Second 5k split was: 24:14.
MILE 7: (8:12) A bit more uphill through the cemetery (a new addition in the last couple years) and then we hung a left onto a side road before coming to the right turn which brought yet another hill to come back up and into the park. The second half of the race is truly brutal. It will really mess you up if you aren't ready. I did my short stepping technique and held my ground. Came up and over the hill and could see people finishing. The last two miles you are doing a loop around the park and then another one inside of it, but one of the beautiful things about the setup is that you can see people a couple miles ahead of you as they are doing the last .5 mile loop around the Duck Pond to finish up.
MILE 8: (8:19) Saw my dad cheering for me which gave me a much needed morale boost. My right hamstring was getting a bit tight, and then I remembered I didn't really stretch my hammys much before the race. Oops! That'll teach you not to cop out of a warmup haha. Mile 8 has changed in the last two years too to cut out a hill around the tennis courts. Phew! Went backwards along the first mile and a half of the course. Held my ground and continued to pick up the carnage from ahead.
MILE 9: (8:11) Thought I was picking up the pace as I was picking people off, but I guess I was holding steady. My third 5k split was 25:20, so I slowed a bit from earlier in the race. Entered the loop by the Duck Pond and my dad was waiting on the left. It is so awesome to have people cheering for you. Was nice to see him there. We share so much with this course and running in general, especially since fifth grade when I started to run with him and did my first 5k alongside him. He's my hero. Held steady until the 9 mile mark and then picked it up. Ended up doing the last .38 miles in 2:47 (7:22 pace).
Finished and crossed the line. They now have automatic timing chips, as the ARE (Albany Running Exchange) hosts the race now. Only I couldn't get the bread tie twists to come off. Eventually a lady helped me take it off and I looked to my left and saw my friend Jen who also runs and ran the Philadelphia Marathon in 2008 finish only 30ish seconds behind me. Not bad considering her achilles has been hurting her she said. Was cool to see someone I knew :)
Overall, the race was a huge success. Was not expecting this result considering I haven't done good training in the last couple weeks aside from some biking. Ended up smashing my A-goal out of the water. Finished in 1:14:31, good for 8:00 a mile, although if you factor in the extra .06 I ran starting in the middle of the pack, I actually ran 7:56 pace per mile! Good enough for 429th place out of 1268 runners, and 24th of 37 runners in my age group.
Total Time: 1:14:31 Total Distance: 9.38 miles Average Pace: 7:56!
COOLDOWN: Wanted to redeem myself for not doing a warmup, so I slow jogged to the car and then did three loops arond the soccer field as I waited for my dad to walk to the car. My quads were shot, probably from the wind trainer and from all the downhills in the first half of the race. I will sleep well tonight! 1 mile in about 10:17. | 
