Keith McHeffey 3 Mile Run & Spicy shrimp tacos, two ways

Runners - 398
Finish - 6th
Age Group - 1st
Time - 19:47

When it comes to running and food I am easily inspired. I saw a TV ad for spicy shrimp tacos so I knew it would make a good Friday night dinner. My son Mike likes them so I hunted down a few recipes on the Food Network website. I chose two, one breaded and fried and the other sauteed. The fried shrimp tacos were accompanied with a salsa Verde salsa made with tomatillos, avocados and jalapenos. It was just the right amount of spice which the cold avocados helped take the edge off. I tossed the second shrimp taco with oil and chipotle spice then sauteed for 5 minutes. They were finished off in the soft taco shell with cole slaw, olives and tomatoes. The cole slaw helped take the heat off the chipotle on the shrimp. Both these dishes will be made again in the future.

I love running races because just being around other runners inspires me. We all run for different reasons, but I run to be around other runners and to stay fit. The Keith Mcheffey race is one that I have run many times with two former co-workers, Tommy and Taugh. Over the years many of our other friends would join us but not on this day. The race used to be the Donavan's Reef 3 mile run and we would end up at Donavan's for a few beers. It is now the Keith Mcheffey 3 mile run honoring his memory after he perished in the 9/11 disaster. This was the 10th annual and the weather was cooperating on this day. In the past we have run in a cold downpour, snow and cold. The Mad Hatter now holds the post race party and it does a great job. It is always a good time to be drinking with other runners.

I got down early so I could sign up, get my shirt and a good parking spot. Doug Rice and his split second timing crew was in charge of the registration and was doing the race day sign ups via computers. It looks like it will be the wave of the future but on this day, he had some issues. The computers were going down and the runners were starting to back up. He had to switch back to paper apps in order to handle all the runners. We just may not be ready for this technology yet.

Taugh and I were up front and Tommy and his cousin were in the middle of the pack. The race started 10 minutes late due the issues at registration, but no one seemed to mind. After the bagpipers played their song, the gun went off.

My plan today was run with Taugh for the first 1/2 mile then push the pace from there. I haven't run a short race since January 1st so I wasn't sure of my fitness. I have been doing some intervals on the treadmill so I felt I could go 6:50 pace. I noticed that after running with Lynch for 5 minutes we weren't far from the leaders. I think most of the really fast runners were planning to run the Asbury 1/2 marathon on Sunday. I picked up the pace and started passing runners. I got into a nice rhythm and could see the leaders at this point although I knew I couldn't catch them so I just wanted to catch any 50 year olds.

At the turn around I was in 10th place and figured I could catch a few more runners. I passed a few runners right after the turn and concentrating on passing the 2 young kids in front of me. I got one of them at mile 2.2 and the second kid with a 1/4 mile to go. I felt really good but couldn't catch the guy in front of him. I finished in 19:47 which I was pleased with although I think the course was a bit short.

I ended up in 6th place overall and 1st in my age group which was a nice surprise. I have 1/2 marathons in back to back weekends coming up. The NYC and then the Sleepy Hollow 6 days later. This race gave me some confidence that I could go fast again. My hopes are to run NYC in under 8's, hopefully 7:45s.