Conquer the 5K's - Princeton, NJ

Time - 20:52
Pace - 6:42
Runners - 130
Place - 13
Age Place - 1st
Heart Rate Average - 156
HR peak - 167

I woke up at 5am this morning with too many thoughts of the Run with the Vikings 5K and how much I needed to do before the race on Sunday. Being the race director, you want to make sure you have everything covered. I feel I am having a party, and invited over 350 guests and I want it to be rewarding and fun for them. I never get to run hard at my own race and I felt I needed to either run long or fast before my 5K.

I needed a race nearby because my time was limited and I wanted to also promote my race. I found what I believe to be a new race on the calendar, called Conquer the 5K's which is a play on 5K. It is meant to be the 5 killers of health which are stress, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and high blood pressure. I firmly believe that running will help with all those issues so I thought it was a great cause. People really shouldn't wait until its too late.

My only issue today was the 10am start since I knew I wouldn't get home until 11:30 or later. I wouldn't be able to stick around for any awards since I had so much to do. Got to the race at 9:10 and pre registration was outside and the volunteers were all freezing. Most of the runners were inside, warm and cozy. Not sure why they couldn't do the registration inside but maybe next year they will do it.

Race got started 10 minutes late which I hate. They were doing group stretching at 9:55. Memo to race directors: start the races on time. Do all the other stuff 15 minutes before the start.

Needed to wear gloves and long sleeves for the first time this season. I probably could have gotten away without both, but it was in the high 30's. I ran into Mike Dixon and Mike Anis, both of RVRR and sure to be the favorites. Both of them could easily run sub 16 minutes for the race. I was just eyeing the 50 years olds. I just try to hang with them but sometimes you can't always tell the older guys. Some of the younger guys look old.

The course was entirely on the grounds of Bristol Myers Squibb and had some decent hills. I knew I wasn't going to run a better time than last week so I just wanted to keep the pace strong.

When the gun went off, the fast pack took off and I was left with the second group of runners. I figured I would try to stay in front of them for as long as I could. A few of the newbies went out too fast and were soon caught, but there was such a big gap between me and the front pack it was hard to keep pushing since I was really running alone. my best races are when I run in a group and push the pace and have someone to chase down.

The hill at mile .5 and 2.5 took a few seconds off my time but when I hit the tape at sub 21, I was happy. I stuck around for a bit but had to get going and couldn't stay for any awards. I figured I was in the top 3 in my age group but was surprised to find out I came in first in the 50-59 and 11th overall. Mike Dixon did go sub 16, 15:55 to be exact winning the race and Mike Anis finished 3rd in 16:19.

I got home by 11:45 and quickly headed over to the high school to get stuff set up for tomorrow. My neighbor Jerry helped along with Ro and Karen, the school secretary. Last minute pickups and we were done.

No time for cooking so I ordered from Joe's deli on Route 27 in Franklin Park. They have a deli and a restaurant and it was packed. I ordered eggplant rollatine and penne with vodka sauce and chicken, Both of the dishes were excellent. I highly recommend Joe's for a night out and don't forget to BYOB.