Nothing like running a race on your doorstep and your own backyard, the 4th annual Penn Relays 5k, for once NOT part of a double header, in 2021 and 2022 it was the day b4 the Run For The Blue 5m race on Market St in late October and last year it served as a November double header w/ the Bridge Run 10k, thankfully this year it stood in its own
Franklin Field holds a special place in my heart when I moved out to West Philly in 06 it became my home base and pretty much all of my prep for Indoor and Outdoor Nationals between 06-16 was conducted on that track, I also got to run a few Masters 4x400m relays w/ my former club at the prestigious Penn Relays there and in 2010 ran my first ever sub 16.00 5,000m in something like 15.58 at a college meet.....yeah Franklin Field and I have a history
While Franklin Field and I have a storied past me and the University Of Penn don't see eye to eye, their treatment of students who were Pro Palestine this Spring was nothing short of shameful in a country where Freedom Of Speech and Freedom Of Expression are not only encouraged but also part of the Constitution anyone who set up on the main campus to oppose UPenn's backing of Israel's shameful behaviour in the Gaza Strip and West Bank were either arrested, threatened w/ expulsion or not allowed to sit end of year exams, eventually the Campus brought in Philadelphia Police to brake up the make shift camps students had set up to demonstrate the Genocide in Palestine and drew the wrath of the Governor of Pennsylvania one Mr Josh Shapiro.......you don't need to " join the dots" to work out who's side of the conflict he was on or whom he would lend unequivocal backing....., to that end this felt very much the race to wear my Palestine running vest that I wore in Dublin and my Ireland/Palestine t shirt as my warm up shirt
Franklin Field is roughly a mile from where I live so it's an easy get to the morning of a race, I was out the door at 7.30am and on the infield picking up my race number by 7.50am, conditions were sunny and mild for mid November in what was my 11th race this season, as I missed the deadline for entries on next weekends Rothman 8k or Philadelphia Half Marathon this was my second to final race of the season, the year ending Schuylkill River Loop 8.4m will bring the curtain down on a frankly mixed bag of a season, I had said last week after the Rocky Run 5k prior to the 10 miler an hour or so later that I couldn't really gauge where I was at over 5k, today would give me a better idea based off last years results in the 60-69 age group I needed to run in the region of 22.30 at 7.30 mile pace to have a crack at a top 3 finish and getting on the podium
In a field of 217 I knew I needed to be near the front when the siren went off on the south side of the track as we did a lap of the track b4 exiting through the gate onto the sidewalk of 33rd St and towards Penn Park behind Franklin Field , I got a clear start and went through the opening mile in 7.17....although my Garmin aka Hal The Little Bollix didn't register the opening mile till after the official 1 mile marker.....in a season where so much hasn't gone to script this felt like the least of my woes.....
7.50 at mile 2......again after I went through the official 2 mile marker now for the fun and games.....I can't say for certain the runner ahead of me cut a loop of Penn Park but I didn't recall seeing him in front of me the last 2 miles now all of a sudden when he should've gone right for lap1 he went left for lap 2.......I don't object to getting beat by runners who are faster and better than me but I draw the line at people who cut loops off a race period muchless a 5k......., not content w/ that infraction he then cut the corner of the turn towards Franklin Field.....everyone else went around the turn he went across it....small potatoes when ye've cut out an entire loop of Penn Park I guess but it was the incentive I needed to dig deep w/ roughly half a mile to go..... and promptly dropped him like a bad habit.....
Back into Franklin field up the back straight around the top turn down the home straight to the finish line, 22.22.12 off 7.37 mile pace, 51st overall but 3rd in the 60-69 age group 11 seconds behind second but more importantly 34 seconds ahead of 4th, to compound how off Hal The Little Bollix is when I crossed the finish line which is 3.1m it read 2.94.......like I said Little Bollix.......
For only the third time this season in eleven races I made the podium it's not something I take for granted, I don't have a divine right to rock up at a race and think " oh yeah Top 3/Age Group Award" it has to be earned and worked for, if I can finish out the season in three weeks time on the podium at the Schuylkill River Loop it will be a good way to end a frustrating season, to that end I need to knuckle down this week and resume lunchtime training runs, since returning from Dublin I've raced more times {4} than I've trained {1} I am still in that " mile a day recovery from a Marathon" mindset as of today it's been 20 days, come Friday my " statute of limitations" expires time to get back to basics
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