Race: Max's O'Hartford 5K
Date: March 22, 2014
Location: Hartford, CT
Official Time: 25:50
Official Lap: 8:19
Place: 233 / 1711
Race Stats
Speed: ★ ★ ★ ★ (nice and open)
Hills: ★ ★ (one small hill)
Crowd: ★ ★ ★ ★ (great turnout)
Party: ★ ★ ★ ★ (they put on a good show)
T-Shirt: ★ ★ ★ .5 (simple, but nice)
Whoa momma, this was a cold one. In keeping with the cold weather of February and March, this St. Patty's Day run was still an ice breaker, even a week later. Check out my latest web page dedicated to the race, complete with photo album. Yet, despite the cold, the race was a blast. I was able to catch up with two of my OB/GYN interns before the race. We got to hang out a little in the Hartford Civic Center for a while, before warming up for the run.
The race itself was a very nice. It was flat and covered a lot of the same ground as the Hartford Marathon. I love running through the streets of Hartford - I did live in this city for four years, and have spent a lot of time here with sporting events, dinner, theater, and just plain old hanging out and having a good time. It's nice to get to see the city from the closed off roads.
For me, the run was pretty good. I am not in the best running shape as of yet, but this is one of the earliest starts that I've had on the season. The time overall wasn't too bad. In fact, the cold weather got the best of the timing system, and everyone actually ran about 30 seconds faster than what was posted (so about 25:20 for me). That definitely gives me something to work with, and I may see the 23:30 race goal that I have for myself this season.
The afterparty was great, but seeing Iris take first for her age group was even better. I knew that she was a good runner, but just over 20 minutes is crazy! The party on the streets was a lot less chilly after 3.1 miles. But even with that, we wrapped up our celebrating at a near by tavern instead. It was a great way to spend the afternoon with some friends and co-workers in a sweaty and chilly way. I'll keep this race on the radar, but let's hope for some more seasonal weather next year. At least it didn't snow!