Vandalia 5k

This was a last minute addition to my race schedule.  It's organized by the Ohio River Road Runners Club, which is a top notch organization.  A $9 registration fee and a chance for some speedwork on a Tuesday evening made it a no-brainer.  This was my first 5k since the Glass City debacle, so I was eager to see where I was in my recovery.

I made my way to the Vandalia Rec Center after work and got there in plenty of time to warm-up.  It was rainy which is par for the course this spring.  It wasn't too cool though and made for comfortable race conditions.  Plus we could warm-up in the Rec Center prior to the race. 

The race report itself is pretty short as there were no clocks along the course. The only thing that irked me was the first half mile or so.  The race starts in the parking lot of the Rec Center and goes on to a bike path through the complex.  A very narrow bike path.  With close to 200 runners on it.  You see where I'm going with this.  It was jam-packed and made very difficult by the fact that nobody wanted to pass in the grass due to the rain.  The grass looked pretty slick so I had to just hang tight.  The first mile went fast, almost too fast.  We went through town and I started feeling it around the mile 2 marker.  I really didn't have a goal or plan coming into this due to a lack of heavy training.  It seems my legs are getting really tired early in races right now.  I upped my pace slightly during the last mile, which was back on the bike path, which was a lot less congested than in the beginning of the race.  I was able to kick it in during the last 100 meters for a respectable 22:38.

Next Race: Lou Cox 5k- Dayton, OH