Bethel Firecracker 8K

July 4th brought me to a race in a different neck of the woods. No, not Florida, or even the South. Instead, I returned to my roots in Connecticut, which is where I was born and spent the first three years of my life. What brought us up here was helping my Grandfather recover from a neck injury he recently sustained (see my Travel Blog for more information on our stay in CT in June/July). But it worked out well for my training since it spared me two weeks I otherwise would have had to train in the nasty Florida heat and humidity. Up here in CT, it's hilly and cool, so I couldn't ask for any better training conditions. To gauge where I was with my training, Dad and I decided to sign up for a 4th of July 8K located more than an hour away across the state. Little did we know that the course was notoriously hilly and was not a spot for PRs. Still, my goal was to break my weak PR from February, hills or not. Dad and I began the hour and 30 minute trek at 6:30 AM, along with my sister, Tania, who decided to tag along and take pictures. Another prospect that attracted me to this race was the 11-14 age group, one that you seldom find in the local races back home. So, to say the least, I had my hands full for this race. After our arrival to the small and quaint downtown area, I picked up my packet and got a decent warm up in on the course. Once it was 10 minutes before the start of the race, I lined myself up near the front and waited for gun. After a little delay, the runners bunched up then took to the streets. I didn't dart off as usual and felt strong leading up to the first hill, a short and steep one. The first mile was otherwise smooth and easy, as I clocked in at 6:50. I picked more people off during the second mile as more hills encumbered the runners around me. The second mile split was slower but nonetheless a hillier mile, giving me a 7:00 minute split. After a quick and flat downtown loop, the course wandered through residential hills, which took more out of me despite the fact I gained on more runners. My third mile was a steady 6:53, but it felt harder than the previous two. Few runners were in the vicinity so I tucked in behind a runner carrying a large American flag, which turned out to be a big mistake. The fourth mile was a painful one, tracing back our path to the finish. I started to begin a kick, following the flag bearer. I was knocked out of my painful haze when I heard a voice about 20 meters behind me. It was a fellow runner, calling us back because the navigationally challenged flag bearer had taken a wrong turn. A few censored words later, I was back on the right course trying to make up lost ground. Too bad there was a challenging hill ahead of me, slowing down my progress towards the finish. Once the finish was ahead and in sight, I sprinted towards it crossing the line in 34:42. My last mile was in 7:07. Although it was a PR for me, I was expecting something faster but that was impossible on a course as challenging as this. Dad finished in 38:27 (two minutes slower than his 8K PR in February and comparable to his pace for a half marathon in FL), which was a sign that this course wasn't challenging just for me. Dad had just completed two consecutive 30-mile weeks on CT hills with me leading up to this race, so he was reasonably well prepared for this race. We hung out on the nearby town green for a little while, waiting for the awards. I was happy to learn that I took first place in my division and was awarded a not-so-impressive drawstring bag embroidered with the race logo for my efforts. Still, I ran a decent PR with little speed training geared towards the race. In the upcoming weeks (and for the rest of the summer) I'll keep piling on the miles, and will be looking for a long overdue 5K PR at the Not Your Typical 5K on July 15th in Middletown, CT. So long and keep up the summer running!