Spring Lake 5 - 33:57

Runners - 8,163
Finish - 175th
Age Group - 13
Time - 33:57

To me, the summer running season doesn't begin until the Spring Lake 5 is run on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. This was my 15th Spring Lake 5 and thirteenth in a row. It is not the best race if you are looking to set a PB at the 5 mile distance because of the crowds, but arguably the most enjoyable one. They do a fantastic job accommodating close to 10,000 runners, hydrating and feeding them and then getting it all cleaned up before the beach crowd arrives. This was the 35th edition of the SL5 and the day was just about perfect, although a bit on the warm side. This is the largest race in New Jersey and they do it right. The give out great, well thought out t-shirts, a pint glass, a nice calendar and this year a hat and there is plenty of food and drink afterwards. This doesn't include the free burger lunch at Bar A.

I usually bump into many of my running friends and today was no exception. I have been meeting Jack Frost (1:15:34), Dennis Lake (39:35) as well as their friends for the last 10 years. Tony Merola (50:21), and David Conaghan (1:29:44) from my Wall Street days and of course the Senator (37:15), Mike W (37:10) and Brian Borden (40:11) were also in attendance. When the weather is like it was today, it makes for a nice event and a great post race party, although it was slightly chilly when I first got down there.

I drove down early this year and got a great parking spot, about 3 blocks from the start/finish. I even eyed a port-a-john at a nearby home construction site which is always empty. I got a pre-race massage and most certainly was getting a post race one also. I had the young lady work on my right leg which has been bothering me lately, in particular my knee.

If you want to run a decent time it is a must that you start at the front, not just near the front but in the front 10 rows. Once the gun goes off, it is a free for all. Me, Mike W and Brian Borden all started up front and got off to a good start. I wanted to run sub -7's with hopes on maybe running 6:40's but the fog had lifted and it was getting hot and humid quickly. I hit the first mile in 6:44 which was good since I breathing easy.

I missed the mile 2 marker but I felt I was on the same pace and mile 3 confirmed that still on the 6:45 pace. I was taking plenty of water and downed a GU at the mile 1 water stop. Mile 4 was my slowest, running a 7:07, and the heat was starting to get to me, plus we were doing lots of turns up and down the blocks of the town. I was at 27:10 after 4 miles and didn't want to let a sub 35 slip away so I picked up the pace a bit. The finish is along Ocean Avenue, but you don't get there until you have about 1/4 mile to go. I kept pushing until I got to the turn that puts me on Ocean Avenue. The final straight away to the finish seems a lot longer than a 1/4 mile so I try to keep my head down and not look at the finish line banner until I get close.

I finished strong in a chip time of 33:57 which was better than I thought but as always thought I could had gone faster.