rr: lightfoot runners (norwalk) summer series 5 miler

as i mentioned elsewhere, the norwalk summer series is my favorite group of races - challenging, but fair, courses and great pre- and post-race socializing. i first ran this 5 mile course back in 2004, and the complete series (5 races, plus the half marathon) two years in row (2005 and 2006). last summer, however, was the first time in 3 years i wasn't able to run one because of conflicts with other races or business travel. then, this year, i missed the 3 mile kick-off two weeks ago because it conflicted with yet another race. i was relieved to finally have a norwalk summer series race back on my race calendar!

these are my prior times on this course:

2004 - 34:34/6:55 pace
2005 - 32:57/6:36 pace
2006 - 32:36/6:30 pace

there was zero likelihood i'd run a sub-35 minute race today. but a 37:30 finish - a 7:30 pace - would be just fine.

instead of driving to norwalk, i met emmy in greenwich and we drove there together (because after the race she'd drive me to the cos cob library to see her art exhibit). somehow we got lost on the way there! when i recognized the course of the wilton halloween hustle, i thought it was time to call don (the race director) and get directions! he cleared things up immediately - it turned out the deli emmy had been looking for was now a bank! phew, after backtracking a bit, we found the "bank" and got to the race without further adventure.

there were so many familiar faces there: aside from don - marty, rob, john, kate, gail, dawn, brian and mark - just to name a few! don got the race off on time, but one person in particular (emmy) had to track down her inhaler and missed the official start by a minute or so. the tough part of this course is mile one - basically a straight uphill climb. then mile two is all recovery on the downhill, followed by 3 miles of rolling hills. it's a challenging course in decent weather. but today, with high heat and humidity, it was especially tough.

here are my splits:

7:21
6:57 14:48
7:40 21:58
7:48 29:46
7:45 37:31

7:31 pace

i was very pleased with my race! i was even happier to learn the course was long (measured to 5.11 miles)! a quick conversion results in a 7:19 pace over that distance - and a five mile "split" of 36:35! what a pleasant surprise! emmy, despite her late start, finished in 35 minutes, third place overall. rob finished up right behind me. john and kate finished together.

one highlight of don's races is the post-race food. after i caught my breath, i made a beeline for the ice cream truck and followed that up with some watermelon! the back to the car to grab my camera for some picture taking. in addition to emmy's 3rd place finish, john took 4th in his age group (award for first to fifth place). all in all, a great morning!

next up: putnam county classic (8 miles around lake mahopac) on the 4th of july!

check our the race photos.
check out emmy's race report and photos!