Little Silver 5K (Little Silver, NJ)

I can't believe it took me FIVE months to recap what wound up being my last race of 2016. Life has been CRAZY! Better late than never?

Anyway, I knew I would be racing Little Silver this year after they discounted registration to anyone registered in 2015, since that race was cancelled due to Hurricane Joaquin (which never happened). I love the course and the atmosphere, plus the fact that they did it right for those registered for last year makes this race one of my favs.

I actually picked out the same outfit for this race that I was going to wear the year before, and after eight races in 2016, I thought the shirt choice was fitting. I included a poncho because they said it might be wet, and after Keyport, I wanted to be prepared.

One of the best parts of this race is the later start time of 9:30 in the morning. I got to sleep until 7, and left my house around 8. With a 20ish minute drive, I got into Little Silver just before 8:30, and spent the better part of the hour before the race staying loose and warm. It wasn't raining at all (thank goodness), but it was still wet from the overnight rain. I decided that I was going to attempt the PR, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if it didn't happen. This was my third race in eight days, and I wasn't sure what I had in the tank at that point, but was ready to enjoy the course and end smiling!


At about 9:15, we lined up at the start. There was a start mat this time as well, so chip time would be my time. I guess the race gods heard my request from two years ago. ;-)

My approximate start position. I hit the start mat about 25 seconds after the gun went off.

 

After a few last minute instructions, the National Anthem was played, and then we were off!

Right before we went off!

 

One lesson I am still working on learning is not going out too fast. I did this most races, and this one was no exception. I wound up with a 10:53 first mile, and it wound up biting me in the butt. The course was scenic, but hillier than I remember it being when I last ran it in 2014, and had a mile of 12:00. The PR was gone at this point, but I still wanted to enjoy the race. I let it go, and while my last mile was the slowest (12:41), but I took off my headphones and soaked it all in as I approached the finish. My last tenth of a mile was a sprint on a wet track (so maybe it wasn't as much as I thought it was) of about 52 seconds, and I ended at 36:20 (11:42/mile). Just seconds faster than the Rook Run the week before, and about two minutes of of the PR I got in Keyport eight days earlier, but still a solid time. I was happy and could not believe that I did my third race in the span of eight days.

The only pixture I got on the course. This was the second race I ran past a cemetery.

After hanging out at the finish area for a bit, I went to Rook and got an iced New Orleans (my fav coffee, especially after a run or workout), and headed to the Little Silver firehouse for the after party! I hung out there for a few hours, just talking to other runners, and capped off what was an awesome week of racing. I may not have had the fastest race that day, but I was still happy with everything I did, not just that day, but with the year as a whole.

Awesome race. Awesome year of racing.

 

The awesome crew that makes this race happen!

This race is one of my favs, because of the awesome course and atmosphere, plus of how much they give back to the runners. Hopefully if my calendar works out, I can be back in 2017!