The tow path revisited

On June 21, I ran the Georgetown 8K. The race starts under the Key bridge, runs up the tow path to just past Fletchers Boathouse and then back the way we came. I just ran much of this same course the previous evening during the Hugh Jascourt 4 miler. It was cooler than the night before so I hoped for a better run tonight.

This was hailed as a Father's Day race and there were several fathers in attendance. The race also included triathalon standout Desiree Ficker, who easily won the womens race by more than 6 minutes (29:02). Unfortunately for me, none of my slower friends made it to the race so I hoped I had some new company out there.

I intentionally went out slow this evening. No one else did though so fell to the back of the pack pretty quickly. I ran for over 8 minutes before taking a rather lengthy walk break. My goal became a simple one...beat last years slow time of 63:06 in this same race on a miserable muggy evening. At the turnaround I was just about on pace but I faded during the next mile and a half. I picked it up a bit from there to the finish as I tried to catch the runner in front of me (James Sullivan). I was making up ground on him when I ran but he was running faster than I walked so I couldn't close the gap entirely. He finished 58 seconds in front of me. I finished 53rd (sounds better than last) with a time of 64:38 (chip time). So I failed in my efforts to beat last years time. However, on a positive note, my pace per mile was about 9 seconds faster than the previous evenings race, which was a mile shorter. This was my longest race sincre late December so I was relatively pleased with my performance. Hey, at least I finished.