Last night was the first night of the AdiRUNdack Trail Series, a series of four mid-week 5K races, put on by the Adirondack Runners, a friendly running club that operates in the Glens Falls, NY area. Rebecca Smith does an excellent job of directing the race. The field was much larger than last year, with 146 people running in the first race. Alex Benway won it for the men’s field, in 17:03, and Tyra Wynn won it for the women’s field, coming in at 21:20.

As for me, I didn’t push it this week. My training leading up to the races has not gone as I had hoped, and I found myself dragging on my last two runs. This week I chose to stay with my friend Tisha, and her pace worked very well for me. I plan on pushing somewhat harder next week, and I’m aiming for a PR in the 3rd or 4th week, if all goes well. I think I’ve got it in me. My weight is up, from last year, so that may be my limiting factor. Time will tell.

The course itself is near perfect: it starts out on the Glens Falls YMCA’s gravel track, so you can watch the other runners as you make your way around a lap and almost another one. After that it ducks into Coles Woods, where it stays mostly on woods roads. That works well with a 5K, because it gives plenty of opportunity for passing. There’s one big (long) hill, right in the middle, and it’s usually lined up perfectly with the sun. This week the clouds kept it from being too obnoxious. Tisha and I passed several people on the hill, and for once they didn’t all blast past us on the way down.

I choose to run with my Inov-8 TrailRoc 245s, which have been my favorite trail shoes since I got them last year. They bite well, they fit well, and they’re light. They have a wide, stretchy toe box, which I appreciate, and the heel is firm, which also works well with my feet. I tried out a few other shoes on last years races, but I wasn’t really happy with the bite I was getting, even with other trail shoes.

You can read my reports from last year here.

Well, that’s it for this report. As always, be excellent to each other.

This was originally posted on my Ghost blog.