My line for the Chris Griswold Memorial 5k at Como Park, Lancaster…
51. Sam Spritzer 0:21:53 0:07:03 11/M50-54 49/M
Not only is this PR #2 for the year, it also represents meeting one of my goals for the year – breaking the 22 minute mark.
It was another top ten running day…sunny, cool, breeze and in the 60s. The course rolls through Como Park in Lancaster with its gentle hills. The best part was the tail wind during the up-slopes and the head wind during the down-slopes. This time I decided to pace myself rather than shoot out of the gate hellbent on getting away from those crazy Canadian geese that love to chase people on the Amherst Bike Path. And I found a couple of new pacers to hook up with…Michael, Tom, and Darlene. Thanks guys…and gal! I actually felt good when I crossed the finish line and had enough gas left. Maybe I should have started my final kick earlier but I guess that will be for another time.
Next week is the Buffalo Marathon where in the words of Dan Donoghue…”they come from all over the world!” Dan is my good friend and lunch partner at work. Every day, we go for a walk down Lawrence Bell Dr. The weather has been absolutely phenomenal lately. As we walk down LBD, airplanes are either approaching Buffalo Niagara International Airport or taking off. And every time we go outside, Dan would raise his arms and proclaim, “They come from all over the world for this weather!”
On the other hand, the director of the Buffalo Marathon tells me he has at least 10 Kenyans, a Russian and a Mexican doing the race. Well OK John….but I don’t think the Checkers 50 relay team is going to give them a run for their money. The Checkers 50 relay team is captained by Steph and includes me, “BIG” Mike K., and “Coach” Di along with honorary coach , Tony G. Tony is the dude in the picture from my post, the Shamrock Run. This man BEAT the dreaded cancer, mutliple myeloma and now his goal is to get back to running. He just completed walking the entire 4 miles of the 1st Annual Elephant Run. What courage! I am definitely dedicating my run to him!
Have a good week and happy running, y’all!