30th Anniversary Little Compton 4.8 Mile Road Race

July 10, 2010
Little Compton, RI
4.8 miles
32:15
6:44 Pace
38th/539 Place

This was a PR for me at this distance.  Also, my first 4.8 mile road race.

Little Compton is a small, rural town and this race provided a great venue to see the landscape.  From the Town Center and school, through the rolling hills, by farms and a gas station which sells only 87 octane, the route provided great scenery to a good-sized crowd.

I started at the front of the pack, as the first 100 yards narrowed from two lanes to one, and tried to keep a conservative pace.  I'm still not feeling very fast at any distance, and knowing this was a good deal longer than the 5k's I've been running, I wanted to have some energy for the last mile.  I'm not sure the mile markers were accurate, since my times were all over the place, but I did pick it up after the 4 mile mark, and passed a few groups of people.  I've been running a few 1200m loops at track workouts, and put that pace in my mind for the last 0.8 miles.

Here's a lesson I learned from my high school track coach:  finish a race 10 yards after the finish line.  I gained my final spot within the last few yards of the race, because of an overhead banner that appeared to be the finish line.  Another runner had just caught me and stopped under the banner, but I kept racing to the clock ahead of me.  That kept me one spot ahead of him.

Overall, I'm happy with the result.  The day was very hot and humid, and I'm just not in the shape I was in two or three years ago.  I also spent the last two weeks on vacation with not so much running, and a few too many calories.  I'll have a few more short, fast races this summer and keep working on my time.

Next up, the Blessing of the Fleet, in Narragansett.  10 miles of fun.