First race in 32 years!!!

oldburgrunner wrote:

A little over a year ago I started running again. Injuries forced me out in 1989. Like most people in their first race I went out too fast. It was 1.5 miles on roads & 1 mile XC. After .5m I knew I was running too fast, slowed down to recover & almost immediately turned into a vicious .5 mile headwind! Back in my day I ran top ten, often top five in local road races, but only won four very small races. Being from the Boston area, the home of the GBTC, New Balance & about a hundred colleges it seemed like "Someone would always show up" that put the idea of winning out long before the gun went off. Well it still happens. This was the tenth running of this race. I was able to find online results for most of the previous running's. This is a small race, about 50 people. Most of the over 60's I saw were 10 min. pace or slower. I saw one at 8:30. I ran 8:16, 14 seconds a mile faster than that & lost by over a minute!!!!!!! I may have beat the course record & still was never in the race! But it was fun to be back in that atmosphere. Picking such a low key race was intentional.

oldburgrunner wrote:

A little over a year ago I started running again. Injuries forced me out in 1989. Like most people in their first race I went out too fast. It was 1.5 miles on roads & 1 mile XC. After .5m I knew I was running too fast, slowed down to recover & almost immediately turned into a vicious .5 mile headwind! Back in my day I ran top ten, often top five in local road races, but only won four very small races. Being from the Boston area, the home of the GBTC, New Balance & about a hundred colleges it seemed like "Someone would always show up" that put the idea of winning out long before the gun went off. Well it still happens. This was the tenth running of this race. I was able to find online results for most of the previous running's. This is a small race, about 50 people. Most of the over 60's I saw were 10 min. pace or slower. I saw one at 8:30. I ran 8:16, 14 seconds a mile faster than that & lost by over a minute!!!!!!! I may have beat the course record & still was never in the race! But it was fun to be back in that atmosphere. Picking such a low key race was intentional.

The Unkle wrote:

oldburgrunner wrote:

A little over a year ago I started running again. Injuries forced me out in 1989. Like most people in their first race I went out too fast. It was 1.5 miles on roads & 1 mile XC. After .5m I knew I was running too fast, slowed down to recover & almost immediately turned into a vicious .5 mile headwind! Back in my day I ran top ten, often top five in local road races, but only won four very small races. Being from the Boston area, the home of the GBTC, New Balance & about a hundred colleges it seemed like "Someone would always show up" that put the idea of winning out long before the gun went off. Well it still happens. This was the tenth running of this race. I was able to find online results for most of the previous running's. This is a small race, about 50 people. Most of the over 60's I saw were 10 min. pace or slower. I saw one at 8:30. I ran 8:16, 14 seconds a mile faster than that & lost by over a minute!!!!!!! I may have beat the course record & still was never in the race! But it was fun to be back in that atmosphere. Picking such a low key race was intentional.

You're doing well.

At age 62 (after running in college and then in my 30s -- otherwise no running) I returned and in my best race nailed an 8:05 pace.

Now at 67, I have been running 9:20s.

Hope to return to sun 9s anyway -- goal of sub 8s seems out of reach

oldburgrunner wrote:

A little over a year ago I started running again. Injuries forced me out in 1989. Like most people in their first race I went out too fast. It was 1.5 miles on roads & 1 mile XC. After .5m I knew I was running too fast, slowed down to recover & almost immediately turned into a vicious .5 mile headwind! Back in my day I ran top ten, often top five in local road races, but only won four very small races. Being from the Boston area, the home of the GBTC, New Balance & about a hundred colleges it seemed like "Someone would always show up" that put the idea of winning out long before the gun went off. Well it still happens. This was the tenth running of this race. I was able to find online results for most of the previous running's. This is a small race, about 50 people. Most of the over 60's I saw were 10 min. pace or slower. I saw one at 8:30. I ran 8:16, 14 seconds a mile faster than that & lost by over a minute!!!!!!! I may have beat the course record & still was never in the race! But it was fun to be back in that atmosphere. Picking such a low key race was intentional.