The Spring...and The Summer

This past spring I had the season of my life. I PR'd in every distance from 3k to 10 miles. The Washington Running Report just came out with its spring rankings and I was fortunate enough to crack the top 10. This ranking includes runners from Virginia Beach/Richmond to northern Maryland and everywhere in between. It would be interesting to see what would happen if they had a 10k race in which all of the individuals below raced. Would I finish in 10th? My guess is no, though I think I'd be in the top 15.

Here is a snippet from the report:

The line between the next four runners is razor thin. In March, Seth Hutchinson won the Martha Jefferson 8K in 31:45 and in April he motored to another overall win (these carry extra weight) at the Charlottesville 10 Miler with 50:58. That would have made him 23rd right behind Aaron Church (50:52) and Jake Klim (50:56). Church may not have even heard Klim as he was charging toward the finish against Bert Rodriguez for the 20th spot. Dirk de Heer moved to eighth place, heading off Church by beating him at the St. Patrick's Day 8K. Klim continued to draft off Church, finishing the Kaiser Permanente Pike's Peek 10K in 30:57 to Church's 30:55.

THE RANKINGS:

PL/Name/Age/Hometown
1 Kipketer, James 32 Marion, VA
2 Endale, Abiyot * 23 Silver Spring, MD
3 Young, Tim 23 Fredericksburg, VA
4 Megressa, Gurmessa * 30 Silver Spring, MD
5 Berdan, Dave * 29 Baltimore, MD
6 Wardian, Michael * 36 Arlington, VA
7 Hutchinson, Seth ** 26 Charlottesville, VA
8 De Heer, Dirk 28 Silver Spring, MD
9 Church, Aaron ** 34 South Riding, VA
10 Klim, Jake 25 North Bethesda, MD
11 Molz, Jon * 23 Richmond, VA
12 Picard, Jimmy * 24 Richmond, VA
13 Christian, Will * 26 Norfolk, VA
14 Abuya, Jared * 33 Manassas, VA
15 Awol, Mohammed * 32 Silver Spring, MD
16 Puglsey, Ray 41 Potomac Falls, VA
17 Barresi, Matt ** 27 Falls Church, VA
18 Wade, Robbie *** 28 Arlington, VA
19 Mehmedovic, Izudin * 25 Columbia, MD
20 Hurt, Charlie * 26 Richmond, VA
21 Vivani, Will * 27 Arlington, VA
22 Kolata, Stefan 28 Washington, DC
23 Ingram, Benjamin 33 Baltimore, MD
24 Komen, Wilson 32 Washington, DC
25 Bitok, Kipchirchir * 30 Baltimore, MD
26 Wiegner, Joe 28 Rockville, MD
27 Peters, Gareth 31 Annandale, VA
28 Cheromei, David * 30 Marion, VA
29 Rhodes, Thomas ** 26 Arlington, VA
30 Renjifo, Carlos * 27 Columbia, MD

Now on to the summer...

I am still torn as to what my next race should be. Originally I intended to race the low key Mid-Summers Night Mile (tomorrow) and then follow that up with the Crystal City 5k, but I have yet to run any track workouts geared for an all out mile and I worry that I might pull something (after experiencing some tightness last week on the track). Also, it's simply too hot/humid right now to race (100+ degrees over the last 3 days). Running these shorter (fun) races also derail serious training for the marathon.

I have an entry for the Rockville Twilighter on my desk, but I've yet to send it in. The race always cripples me (last year I came as close to death as I ever have in my life...especially during the week that followed the race), but I feel obliged to run it because it is "the" summer race here in the DC area.

I am also on the fence about the Falmouth Road Race. Last year I traveled down with a group of friends and this year none are running. Flying up for a race solo and renting a car to spend the weekend at my house sans family (folks on vacation that week) doesn't appeal to me.

Philly Distance Run, hereinafter known as Philadelphia Rock n' Roll Half Marathon, is on my list, but I still need to sign up.

Right now, it's all about Chicago. Training continues. All quiet on the Fox Den front...