2012 CDPHP Workforce Challenge

Today I ran in the CDPHP Workforce Challenge.  It's a 3.5 mile "race" around downtown Albany.  I put race in quotes because they had 10,000 participants this year and I had no clear path the entire race.  It's ok though because the event is more about getting out and doing something than busting one out.

The unevenness in my speed is me trying to avoid the crush of people.  Some people ran up the hill and then started walking which is not cool because they blocked the course only 0.25 miles into it.

My GPS watch said I did 3.52 miles in 32:09.84 for a pace of 9:08/mile which is really close to my goal of 9 minute miles.  My average heart rate was 173 bpm so you know I was working.  I beat last year's time by a couple of minutes so I'm happy with the results.  I can tell my track work is paying off because I wasn't dead when I finished.  I wanted to sprint the last quarter mile, but the course was too crowded.

I have a Garmin Forerunner 305 which is pretty hefty and it slides around a bit when I run which is annoying so I'm going to think about getting a smaller one.  I can use the bigger one for biking and a smaller one for these races.  I plan on running a ~3 mile race every month or so and the watches aren't that expensive.

My company had a good turnout and it seemed like people had a good time regardless of their fitness level.  There was also a fair amount of eye candy on the course which is always appreciated.  Y'all know I'm a big fan of a nice ass in tight workout pants.