I signed up for the TexMex 5k in North Wales a few weeks ago as my first run in years. I went back to rnningfool.com to read my old post on the last time I did the race and that was 2017. What’s 5 years worth in seconds per mile? I know the legs aren’t what they once were.
It’s a Race!
It’s about an hour drive to North Wales from Philly in rush hour. I parked in the Merck lot, ran for about 5 minutes to warm up, stretched, then dawdled around for a bit until Ck4 and Nikiii showed up. My parents arrived to join the fun and we headed to the starting line where I saw Dave Gildea near the front. Dave expressed his disdain for people who run with their phones as Chad looked around nervously. For an inexplicable reason, the electronic starting line was about 8 ft. wide and herded people into about a 4 wide section. The national anthem sang and the race begun.
I got around the leaders within the first bit and felt fine. I was surprised that I was within the first 10 guys at the start and no one was passing me which was a good sign. My first mile was 5:32 and I was still in contact. The next mile my watched dinged 5:42 and there were some uphill aspects and I felt ok. I had done the race in prior years so I knew that once I got to a downhill portion of the 3rd mile it would be fast and easier. I still felt strong and pushed towards the end with a 5:39 last mile and 17:45 finishing time. My watch had the race being an extra .7 miles which I think may have been contributing to the additional time but who truly cares?
After finishing the race, I watch Dave finish in his goal time of right around 21 minutes (6:45 pace) and CK4 sprint to the finish line at 23 (7:26). Full race results here. I ate their chicken concoction and had a few beers while we shot the shit in the parking lot after the race. This is one of the better races that I’ve done and a reason why I would continue to do it. There is plenty of space for the 1,200 people, the race starts on time, it’s a nice course, and then there is an array of people hanging out having a few drinks enjoying the race atmosphere after. Well done to the race committee and the people involved.
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