Along with many other Challengers I ran the Twilight 5k tonight. Strava entry and results.
As I mentioned in my last Sweet 1600 report my recent training has been limited by a foot issue, but my recent 4:52 indicated that I’m still in pretty good shape. With that in mind I decided to try to run my first mile in about 5:30 and reevaluate from there. Sub 17 might be on the table if I felt good.
I hit mile 1 in 5:27 (just under 17 flat pace) feeling pretty relaxed, but started lagging a bit in mile 2 and split a 5:34. 7 seconds is a lot to make up when you’re close to redlining in a 5k, but I am usually a strong finisher so sub 17 wasn’t off the table yet. I did pick it up a bit in mile 3 (5:30), but it wasn’t enough and I finished in 17:04 in 4th place overall.
I may not have broken 17 today, but I did make it to the top of the course leaderboard (for now).
Epilogue: Since we were right by the canonical course, Banyan and I ran an extra Lakefront Loops 5k as a cool down.
It was a perfect evening for a Cass Park 5K – many thanks to Kris, Liz, Adam, Tonya, Lauren and everyone else who worked hard to put on such a fun event!
Third straight year in a row running the Twilight 5k. It is always nice to get to see all the FLRC folks. I came in with pretty low expectations and no inclination to run a fast time. I felt like I was taking the first mile easy, but my split for mile 1 was surprisingly
much faster than it felt. Alas, my conditioning caught up with me soon and miles 2 and 3 were 25-30 seconds slower than the first. Still a great workout, a perfect night for a run, and I got to spend the night with my wife and eat ice cream. All big wins in my book.
What a beautiful day for the Peter Demott Peace Trot. It has become a family event and we all had a great time supporting a great organization while running for Peace. Most notably, this year my 95 year old mother used her walker and completed the 1 mile fun run over 4 minutes faster than her time last year winning her age group again . My sister pushed her son Oliver in his wheelchair but was disappointed Leone timing again wouldn’t count them individually. Maybe FLRC can figure out a way to honor both pushers and rollers in our races? Do we need a new category – Wheelchair Teams?
The Kennedy clan Peace Trot runners, walkers and rollers.
Additionally, it was super fun to see so many FLRC runners on the course this year, too many to mention by name but I kept Liz Hartman in my sights for the whole race, as she set the new female course record, and finished just 2 seconds behind @jeanluc. They kept me running fast so I PR’d on the course .
Finally, during our cool down we ran with @mclark for a bit as he and Maggie did the real Lakefront loop. And we helped Carl Frank pick up some course flags.
I ran the Peter De Mott Peace Trot this morning for my Fathers Day run, pushing the kids in the stroller for their second 5k this week. I was hoping to beat my PR from Twilight, and ended up taking 40 seconds as off my stroller 5k PR. The Peace Trot route has fewer sharp turns and less congestion at the start, making it easier to run at a steady pace.
This was my first Peace Trot and the kids and I had fun. I was happy to see a large turnout for a good cause, especially given the state of world affairs these fast few years. Thank you to all the organizers and volunteers!
I ran the Greenfield Glide 5K in
Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, PA on June 2, 2024 with two of my Seneca7 teammates - including my son which filled my heart. It’s a gorgeous trail run with the first half a downhill and, you guessed it, the second half an uphill.
In addition to the Greenfield Glide 5K, I also ran the Peter DeMott Peace Trot on Father’s Day - what a sweet and special event. I tried to catch up with fellow Finger Lakes Challenger Marie Fitzsimmons, but couldn’t quite get there.
I ran the Peter DeMott 5k on Father’s Day while my mom walked with our dear friend Susan. My sister Paula walked and jogged with Kirk and Hilary while Hilary’s MIL Andy took 1st for 70 plus. I was happy that I placed 1st for 60 plus and Barb placed 2nd! 10:04 pace… getting close to getting under 10 again. I do love that!
Today I raced the Orlando Josiah Memorial 5k in Horseheads. Orlando passed away unexpectedly last year at the age of 5 and his family put together this race to honor his memory. I didn’t know Orlando but my sister is good friends with his family.
The race: very soon after the start there a clear 1-2-3 breakaway pack with me in 3rd. The other guys were really taking it out and I was working hard to stay in touch even half a mile in. When I hit 1 mile in 5:23 I was already several seconds behind and starting to pay for the early pace. Miles 2 and 3 (5:37, 5:40) were rough going, but I was in no danger of missing the podium. I finished 3rd in 17:26.
After my race I got to cheer for my nephews and one of my neices in the kid’s fun run.
So That’s What It Looks Like!
Ran this course in daylight for the first time, instead of near midnight. Quite scenic! There was an osprey in the nest. I stopped to watch it for awhile and then it decided to take off and fly over the trail. For a moment, I thought it might be annoyed enough to bomb me but it flew into the woods. A short while later, it flew back and landed on the nest again. Very cool!
Today was a WWWW (Warm and Windy Waterfront Wednesday) run while catching up with @aaron.proujansky1. I thought I was used to the heat by now but it got the better of me. I love being able to run this route on any given workday during my lunch break. I also forgot my phone at home so I’m logging the run much later in the day.
I’m trying to be more intentional about planning to run Challenge Courses around appointments, etc. With that I ran Lindsay-Parsons before an appointment and a few Sweet 1600 while waiting for my daughter. Today’s schedule brought me to Cass Park this morning. Boy, was it humid!
A few observations:
I was surprised to see how much the area has filled in with greenery since my last run there. I like it!
But I was a little scared along the inlet when I heard what sounded like a tree talking to me. It turns out it was a rowing coach.
I think there were (what sounded like) big fish jumping in the inlet. I saw a sizable splash a couple of times.
Right to Run 5k is a race held in Seneca Falls right from the same starting point as “It’s a Wonderful Run”. They always setup the course a bit long (Closer to 3.2, verified not just by everyone’s GPS, but by their own map and any other mapping app), so it is not a great PR course in that sense. It is however a nice little event for a good cause.
I resisted the urge to go out hard and watched as the lead pack of a dozen or so peeled away at the beginning. By about halfway through I has worked my way through about half of them and found my way into 7th with at least one person still ahead that I felt I could reasonably catch. I finally did pass him at around 2.5m and felt like I had comfortably locked 6th place up. Alas, with about 20ft left to go I was passed by someone I didn’t even realize was behind me, and he not only edged me out of 6th by 2 seconds, but also edged me for the age group win. Lesson learned … all out until you have crossed the finish line.
The big positive out of it was it might be the first time I have run a 5k a close to full effort with my second mile being faster than my first. I couldn’t quite pull off the negative split as mile three was about 10 seconds slower, but for me that is pretty consistent compared to normal and my final 0.2 was about 20sec faster pace.
Bonus, I finally got the “Life, the Universe, and Everything” bib. It was bound to happen eventually.
Oh, and the lovely lady in pink crossing the finish line is Jodi.
I am not an evening runner … would much rather run midnight to 6 am than 6 pm to midnight. but there is no beating this heat. so after waiting. couple of hours after dinner gave this a quick loop just to get some exercise in. surprising number of walkers ( at least 4 couples) and deer ( only 1?) but expected number of bugs particularly on gravel path which I ran first to have some light to see by. finished by streetlight and discovered that webscorer does NOT like dark. couldn’t get it to light up QR code so turned car headlights on and got enough light in sign to scan.
perhaps choice of shirt had something to do with it?
It might be a setting (or a limitation) on your phone. I’ve never had an issue with it. When I scan any QR code, include Challenge ones with Webscorer, my phone’s flashlight turns on if it doesn’t sense enough outside light.
I was a beautiful cloudy morning when I arrived for the run. And then the sun came out and it was still a beautiful morning
I’ve been itching to get some FLRCC miles all week, but the weather wasn’t cooperating
Though I am not a huge fan of this course, it was the most convenient and fit my time constraints. I am happy I did it, as it was my fastest time for this course, so … I guess I like it a little more
. My sister pushed her son Oliver in his wheelchair but was disappointed Leone timing again wouldn’t count them individually. Maybe FLRC can figure out a way to honor both pushers and rollers in our races? Do we need a new category – Wheelchair Teams?
.
and it was still a beautiful morning 
