September 22nd, 2020. Tuesday
I returned to Holmdel park today to run by pre-race inspection of the course. I did a moderate warm up which I subsequently came to believe was not enough after I ran the course. The goal was just to complete the course while making note of the unique characteristics along the way. I experienced many different emotions as I approached the starting line keeping in mind the hundreds of athletes I had sent off from that line while never having done so myself. I ultimately decided I would treat it as a personal, landmark, life event and enjoy the hell out of each moment. None of that lessened my apprehension about the possibility of being totally crushed by the course. I ran the first 1200m completely under control aiming only to survive. It was an interesting roller coaster of emotions through the so-called Roller Coaster segment of the course. I survived and settled into a comfortable pace for the remainder of the course. I did experience heavy legs and breathlessness at the hill in the bowl, but I recovered within about 200 meters. The remainder was flat and downhill. Each mile got a little quicker. I actually found myself holding back on the downhill through the woods for fear of getting out of control. I think it will be less intimidating the next time I run the course. The most fun of all were the images that flashed through my head of various runners who have dominated here for North Hunterdon over the past years, including images of my son Rob and daughter Kristen battling the ups and downs and twists and turns of the legendary trails of Holmdel Park. My finish was strong and exhilarating with a final time of 33:02. That time exceeded my expectations for a nostalgic, exploratory effort. It gives me reason to believe that I may be able to break 30 minutes on this course in 6 weeks which was my ultimate goal in signing up for this series of races. As I walked away from the finish line I was reminded of our slogan at North Hunterdon regarding this course;
“WE OWN HOLMDEL.”
Good stats.