4 miles @ ~8 min/mi

Nobody else wants to run early this morning, so at 8am I'm at the MCRRC event formerly known as Sue & Connie's Run, formerly known as Sue Wen's Run. Betty Smith is there, brightly clad and looking great. So are three old guys, Jim Rich with his Canon camera, George Tarrasco, and Warren Prunella in MCRRC shorts that match mine. Christina Caravoulias is busy at the registration table. Ken Swab introduces his young neighbor Harold Booth, who says he hopes to do ~8 min/mi. I admit that's roughly my goal pace, even though my singlet says "12:00" on the back. At the starting line I'm telling Harold of the 10-year-old girl, Gabriella Ro Capizzi, who rocketed past me near the finish of last week's cross-country race. A fellow standing near us says, "You don't have to worry; she's not running today. I'm her father!"

At the "Go!" signal we're off. Harold dashes ahead. I proceed gingerly on the über-slick wooden boardwalk and bridges, where several people slip. At the mid-course aid station I pour water over my head. At the finish Harold is waiting for me, arriving two minutes earlier. He shows me scrapes on hand and knee from his fall on the asphalt. The official result has me at 32:06.5 total time, 71st place overall, 60th of 139 men, 5th of 14 in the male 55-59 age range. Splits by the Garmin GPS are 7:22 + 7:45 + 8:10 + 8:45. It shows a total of 4.02 miles; the iPhone Runens app says 7:20 + 7:45 + 8:15 + 8:32 and 4.03 miles, close enough.

(for past Memorial Day club races see 2002 Sue Wen Run (34+ minutes), 2006-05-29 - Sue and Connie's Run (~46 min), 2007-05-28 - Sue and Connie's Run (~42 minutes), 2008-05-26 - Rock Creek Trail plus Sue and Connie's Run (~45 min), 2009-05-25 - RCT plus Sue and Connie's Run (~49 min), 2010-05-31 - Sue and Connie's Run (31:04), ...)/- ^z - 2012-06-17