They call it the Spring Fever 5km. I revert to the original name of Stafford Hospital 5km, which starts at the hospital at Stafford Courthouse.
Mary Washington Hospital Foundation has hosted this race since 2010. For the past three years, the race was virtual only, impacted by COVID.
In 2017, I measured the current course for USATF certification. This year was the first that I was able to run. The route goes off hospital property onto Courthouse Road. There is a loop through Stafford Middle and Brooke Point High Schools’ lots.
The course is relatively flat with a few hills interspersed, the largest on the road between the two schools. The start and finish lines are on different roads but are at the same elevation. So, all ups are compensated with good downs.
My plan for the race is a 40-minute warmup, go out at an 8:45 pace, realize at mile 2 that it will only hurt for ten more minutes, and push to the finish. My FitBit readiness score was 100, telling me it was a day to go all out.
With this year’s weather conditions, there was a forecast for light rain at about 65 degrees.
With an 8:30 am start time, I headed out at 7:40 am for my warmup. I did four repeats of 2-minute walks and 8-minute runs. I covered the entire course, remembering the locations of the ups and downs. Once finished, I stood in the porta-pot line that moved quickly.
I wore shorts over compression shorts, a singlet, a ball cap, and my Saucony Triumph 20 shoes. These shoes are getting bouncier. Actual weather conditions at the start was 65 degrees with a 63-degree dew point, cloudy skies, and little wind.
They had 500 registered runners with about 400 starters. As I approached the start from the rear, only about 100 participants were near the front. Kevin Breen, race ops manager and sponsor from Coldwell Banker Elite, was giving instructions to the front of the pack, warning them to stay in only one lane on Courthouse Road.
The gun goes off, and we’re running downhill. Strangely, I’m running relaxed and easy, as I didn’t hit my 85% heart rate threshold for the first 3 minutes, I’m close to Chris Arey, and I still have visual contact with Jeff Peterson. If my calculations were correct, Jeff was in third place in my 65 to 69-year-old age group. Chris is 72 and much faster than me. He must have started slow.
As an aside, Jeff and I graduated from schools a few miles apart in Fairfax County in 1974. Since the longest race I ran in high school was the 1/4 mile, I doubt we ever ran in the same race in high school.
After the initial down, Hospital Center Blvd rises to the southern turn onto Courthouse Road. After a flat section, there is a brief down and then an uphill heading to Spartan Dr. There are a few runners near me, blocking an easy stride. I’m starting to lose contact with the pack in front of me. I can see Will Triplett on the back and still have visual contact to Jeff. Chris has easily pulled away.
When a large gap forms in a pack, it’s not because the group in front is doing better. It’s because I’m dropping off. I run a surge to get away from the runners near me. I closed part of the gap and then maintained pace with the pack. At this time, my heart rate jumped to 183 bpm. But wait, from my test, my max heart rate is supposed to be only 176 bpm. Oh well.
Spartan Drive is a little up and has two tangents to cut close. Turning into Stafford Middle School, I pass the first-mile marker in 8:49, still in visual contact with Jeff.
The course heads downhill and then up the big hill into Brooke Point. I keep my cadence high and churn the up. On the trip around the bus loop, I stay close enough to Jeff so he can’t see me. Once back on Courthouse Road, we’re on an extended down slope for 1/2 to 3/4 miles. My second mile is a 8:33, and my count has me 15 seconds behind Jeff. With the downhill, my breathing is less labored. I’m resting and maintaining contact with Jeff. I’m planning my passing location and thinking “just before the turn to the finish.”
About 3/4 miles from the finish, Kevin is standing on the side of the road. I put my finger to my lips to indicate, “don’t say anything,” and pointed toward Jeff. I didn’t want him to know how close I was. As we head up the slight hill before turning on Hospital Center Blvd, Jeff started to slow, and it was time to pass. I pushed past hard and turned onto Hospital Center with its long down stretch. It will only hurt another 3 or 4 minutes with my heart rate peaking at 188 bpm. I had to run as hard as possible for as long as possible.
I made the final turn onto Care Lane and passed the 3-mile marker. My third mile was 8:04. The home stretch undulates with a strategic left tangent and an uphill finish. I’m pumping my arms and pushing. About 20 meters from the finish, I hear a spectator yell, “Go, Jeff,” from behind. From the sound, I knew I was clear and relaxed.
My finish time was 26:27, 67 seconds faster than my Grand Slamrock 5km time from 4 weeks ago. Jeff’s time in both races was within seconds. At Grand Slamrock, I lost visual contact from the start.
I placed 49th overall, 35th male, and 3rd in the Male 65 to 69-year-old age group. I won a $10 gift certificate from Lucky Road. With the 26:27 5km time, I’m back to my form of July 2021. I hope I can keep it up for the remainder of the year.
Post-race, I did a 20-minute cooldown with more walking than running. While waiting for awards, Chris asked me why they always did the older age groups last. After all, “we have the least amount of future available time.” His was the last age group award presented.
I want to thank Jeff for pulling me and then pushing me through this race. Today’s result is what racing will do for you. That competitive drive will get your heart pumping and legs moving faster. Something hard to achieve when running alone.
My Grand Prix finish streak is now at 36 races. By 2028, it will be in triple digits, and in 2035 I’ll catch Nancy Cooper’s record. On-on.
After the race, I headed to Charlottesville for the UVA Spring Football game. Since graduating in 1978, this was the first time I could attend. The game started 15 minutes late, there was a heavy rain shower in the second quarter when about 50% of the 6000 people left, and the band left at half time. The offense looked good, or does that mean the defense played poorly?
For an encore, I got up at 5:30 am on Sunday to run 4 miles before heading to Maryland Live to play a private Texas Hold ’em tournament hosted by World Tavern Poker. This action was my first in-person poker since March 2020.
I received two 3-hand penalties for improper play. It’s been a while. Once, I flipped my cards with the nuts before my opponent acted, and he still called. On the other, I think I hit my chip stack with my arm, and the dealer took it as an out-of-turn bet. My opponent folded, so I accidentally won a pot with trash. These actions tell me to stay away from in-person games and continue to play online.
The tournament had a survivor payout structure where the final 22 of 176 players split the pot evenly. I played well, got unlucky with Kings, and was lucky twice, pairing a deuce, finishing in 11th, good enough to pay for six weeks of groceries or my monthly mortgage.
Overall, a productive weekend.