Mud In Your Eye 5k Race Report
As anticipated, Saturday’s 5k Cross Country race at Mount Trashmore was a lot of fun. Naturally a tough course, but very enjoyable. Despite being in the middle of training for a marathon in mid-March, I figured a hard effort over a ‘hilly’ 5k would be beneficial. I also figured I could get an extra 6 miles in by running to the race.
I set off from the house at around 6:30am, with the temperature in the mid 40’s and a gentle cool breeze blowing. I soon settled into 8 minute/mile pace, which felt very comfortable, and before I knew it I’d arrived at Mount Trashmore. For anyone who’s not familiar with pancake flat Virginia Beach, Mount Trashmore is really the only ‘hill’ in the area. Actually, it’s not really a ‘hill’, it’s a man-made mountain about 60 ft. high and over 800 ft. long, and was created by compacting layers of solid waste and clean soil. Nice!
Anyway, on to the race. After collecting my race number and checking my ChampionChip was on the pre-registered list, I needed to stretch a little and take in some fluids to replace what I’d used in the 6 mile jog to the start. I had no high hopes of a fast time after my extended warm-up, so I decided to just settle in early and maintain a fairly quick pace, with the aim of finishing strong and moving up the field.
There were over double the number of runners compared to last year’s race, so the start was quite congested. I found a spot in the second row and when the gun went off was quite happy to let all the fast guys sprint away. My early pace was strong but not crazy and I went through the first mile in 6:19. I was happy to hear my Garmin Forerunner
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