ST. PATRICK'S DAY 8K (race report):

This was my first race in more than two months, since before injuring my hip in January. I've done the course many times, since it was my fourth time running this race and the Jingle All the Way 8k in December is on the same course as well. I don't particularly like the course, but it's a biggish downtown race that kind of signifies the beginning of Spring racing season in DC. It didn't seem right to skip it and I wanted to shake off some dust before next weekend's half marathon. I aimed to run 5:58/mi. pace, which would have given me that ever-elusive sub-30 minute clocking at this distance. For the first half of the race I felt quite strong and was right at 5:58/mi. average pace after three miles. But then, as usual, I slipped quickly into survival mode and finished in 30:13 after dragging myself the last couple miles about 20 seconds slower per mile. My hip felt fine but my stomach was moderately uncomfortable, which (together with dying after three miles) can be chalked up to under-training. The race served its purposes, though: I shook off some dust, tested out my hip and found it to be ok, got in some hard running in advance of the races to come, proved that trying to run sub-60 at the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in three weeks would be too ambitious, and even somehow got a 17-second PR.