I’m a week late on this post. Right after the race, I flew from Baltimore to Vegas to play in the Tavern Poker Nationals and World League Poker Championships. I finished just out of the money in both. These tournaments were the third time I played live since COVID. I do get to play online regularly. Since I qualified, I decided to take the trip.
The FredNats Salute to Veterans 5km finishes inside their stadium and is the tenth race in the 2023 Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix.
Today’s goal was to break 27 minutes. My 5 km last week was 27:14 on a hiller course. I’ve run the FredNats course three previous times in 28:42, 27:36, and 27:44. I have two other runners contending with me for third place in the Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix 65 to 69-year-old age group. It would be great if I could run close to them.
The race had a 10 am start time on the first day of standard time. I left my house at 8:15 am and arrived at the stadium around 8:30 am. I picked up my bib and looked at the in-stadium course setup. I adjusted a few cones for a straight line from the entrance to the warning track to near the third base dugout.
I had an 8:45 meeting and hung out in my car until my warmup.
I started my 32-minute warmup at 9:13 am, four repeats of 2-minute walks and 6-minute runs on the course’s roads. I ran about 2.5 miles to get a feel of the hills and the wind. There was no wind.
With plenty of time to spare, I hit the bathroom in the stadium and roamed out to my car to change into a singlet. While at my car, I hear the 7 minutes to start warning.
The weather was warm for November, 61 degrees, 56 degrees dewpoint, and partly cloudy. I wore shorts over compression shorts, my white FARC singlet, a ball cap, and my Saucony Triumph 20 shoes.
About 2 minutes before the gun, I mixed into the crowd about 50 feet behind the start line.
The race director fired the starter’s pistol on time, and we were off. After the initial downhill, we turned uphill onto Carl Silver Parkway. Most of the pack did not hit the left tangent. I was feeling well. Mixing back to the right tangent was crowded.
After turning onto Gordon Shelton Boulevard, we headed downhill, and the pack started to thin. I went through the first mile in 8:47. I was near another old guy and passed him pushing so he would not hook on.
Reaching the slave museum memorial garden, we turned around and headed uphill. I slowed some and kept tight to the tangents. My second mile was 8:53, which was better than expected. A little before the two-mile mark, I see Jeff Peterson’s distinctive stride, giving me a target to work toward.
The final mile started flatter. I had passed Jeff right after mile 2 and pushed to stay ahead of him. After rounding the traffic circle, there was a tricky little uphill as we crossed the start line.
I was able to push downhill and on the road behind the stadium. We went through the external access gate onto the field by the left foul pole. Mile 3 was right after the entrance, and my time was 8:42. Knowing there were young legs behind me, I ran the last tenth of a mile all out.
The field has two different textured turfs. I don’t know how they do it, but you can feel the difference between the brown warning track and the green playing field. We headed toward home and made a turn down the first baseline.
The final stretch went out into right field. New turf technology is tremendous, and my final kick was easy on my legs. One other male passed me in the last stretch. Still, I did the final tenth in 40 seconds (6:40 pace).
My finish time, 27:04, was 40 seconds faster than my spring 5 km. My chip time was 26:56. I finished 68th overall, 49th male, and 8th in the 60 to 69-year-old males.
My time was 10 seconds faster than last Saturday’s 5km. I was hoping for more. I’m happy with my time improvement on this course.
After finishing, I cooled down for 15 minutes and made it to the stage by 10:50 am to emcee the awards ceremony. Unfortunately, I was having issues with the sound systems. I did the best I could.
In Vegas, I finished 29th in the Nationals and 39th in the World League Poker Championship. I wore a mask while playing and on my flights. Somewhere on public transportation, I was close enough to contract COVID, which was confirmed on Saturday morning.
I’ve been able to stay COVID-free for over three years. My goal is to recover in time for the Turkey Trot.