This used to be one of my favorite 5ks.  I ran it in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

It’s funny how things have changed. AJH was trying to convince me to run a longer race.  Since then I have completed 20 half marathons.

My 5k time back in 2010 was 29:34.

After 5 years, I ran this 5k again last year.  And my time was 28:41. So things haven’t changed that much.

The course had changed for 2015. I assumed that it would be the same this year.

Here is the new course map:

The race started at 8 am. That meant that I had to get up at 5:30.

This being the opening weekend of the Saratoga Flat Track, believe it or not there was already a lot of traffic at 7 am. I was glad to have left early and found parking in a nearby lot. (I was careful this year to park in the correct lot.  Last year, I almost got towed.)

I picked up my bib and shirt and then went back to my car and watched the horses work out for a bit.

There were about 1000 runners at this race.So I bumped into quite a few familiar faces: Judith, fellow blogger & Skirt Sports Ambassador, Christine, law professor where I used to work, Michele, a former student of mine, Sue who I used to play tennis with among many others.

The weather was quite warm …near 80 at the start and HUMID. So not ideal running conditions.  I wasn’t planning to PR anyway.

Soon we headed to the start. It wasn’t chip-timed but it was too crowded to get closer to the front and I didn’t really want to.

And so we were off.

It seems like everyone was passing me by…because they were.  As usual, my first mile was too fast. My plan was to have negative splits and but it never happened.

It was HOT. It was HUMID.  I tried to run in the shade when there was shade and run the tangents (all 15 of them).  Unlike my last 5k, I only walked at the one water stop at the halfway point.  And as it turned out, my legs were tired and I probably should have walked at each mile.

I spotted a guy I knew who passed me at the water stop.  I tried to keep up with him..in vain but finally crossed the finish line at 28:27.

It was actually a little faster than last year so that’s a plus but slower than two weeks ago when I ran a much hillier 5k.

I searched for my friends but Sue was the only one I could find.

Last year, the refreshments consisted of bagels & chocolate milk. This year, watermelon & bananas. I had several.

They posted the results pretty quickly.  I was shocked that I came in third in my age group.  I guess it depends on who shows up.  (Last year, I was 6th.)

and I got a nice medal.

Besides all the turns, it was a pretty flat course. The race is well-organized. I will do this race again.

Splits:

mile 1- 8:45
mile 2 – 9:22
mile 3 – 9:27
.1 – 7:19

28:23 (Garmin time)

I was not going up to the lake until tomorrow.  So I took advantage of this opportunity to get some more miles in. I drove to Saratoga Spa Park for a change of scenery. It is such as beautiful park but it was 90 degrees now and I was tired.  I walked/ran/walked/ran/stopped to eat/walked/ran..DONE!

Happy Running! How is your running going?  Any races ?