Harrisburg Marathon/RFE

It was a good week of running, racing and recognition for the Enck family. I ran the Harrisburg Marathon as part of a mixed-master's relay, and Kyler was recognized for his achievements in the Kraybill Campus, Race for Education.

Harrisburg

Back in the fall, my summer running partner broached the idea of putting together a team for the Harrisburg marathon. I was on board, and we recruited two other masters for our team: my current running partner and and a women who goes to church with my Summer running partner (my running partners are based on how early I have to get up in the morning).

We trained hard all fall, and felt we really had a shot at winning (last year's winners came in at 3:11:00). I was running with Paul B. who is a very good masters runner, and the one workout that did more for me than any other was our long tempo runs on Thursdays. Tempo runs were the one workout that I tended to slack off on. Paul, pushed me hard through September and October, and it paid off.

We were hoping to go 3:05:00, and after Jeanette A. handed off the Paul B., we were right on pace. Chop L. hit the Wildwood Hills hard and handed me the baton, and down the river I went. My leg was 4.6 miles, and I was planning on running around a 6:30 pace. I decided against wearing the GPS, and took off fast. I knew I was running well, but had no idea how well, until I began seeing the mile markers and checking my watch. Wow! I was on pace to go under 30 minutes for a 5-miler. I reigned in two relay teams, and when I saw the bridge to the finish, still had plenty in the tank for a good kick. I crossed the line in 3:00:17. We won our division, and beat all master's teams. My split was 27:15, which was a 5:55 pace. My best race to date, even better than the splits from 5Ks.

RFE

As good as our race was, my oldest son bested my accomplishments. He was third in the school, K-8, as a fourth grader in the Race for Education: 29 laps, 7.25 miles in 1 hour. Furthermore, he was first in the fourth grade, and set a new school record for fourth grade runners. His record would have been good enough to stand up in 5th grade as well. Way to go Kyler!!

Tomorrow, Kyler and I are running the Iron Bridge 5K. The honorary starter is Billy Mills. We are then going to go hear him speak. looking forward to it.