Another Racing Dual: Lawyers Have Heart 10K and DC Road Runners 5K Festival

I know that it has been quiet on this blog. I apologize. Ironically, my summer teaching duties almost seem to take more time than my academic year teaching duties. No matter. It is all good work.

(However, I will take this opportunity to remind all of you that we remain very active on Instagram and Facebook, so please feel free to follow along in those places as well.)

This past weekend represented another racing dual for Coach Kiprunning.  Wilson Komen participated in the Lawyers Have Heart 10K on Saturday, and I was happy to run, along with my wife, in the DC Road Runners Women's Distance Festival 5K and Run After the Women 5K on Sunday.

Wilson Komen at the finish of the 2018 Lawyers Have Heart 10K

As is so often the case in Washington, DC in the summer, this weekend offered rather soupy humid conditions that weren't quite ideal for running.  The Lawyers Have Heart 10K is always a competitive race, and its long hilly and exposed stretches make it a particularly challenging event.

Coach Komen finished 41st overall, with a 5th place performance in the masters division.  He was pleased with his performance, and he continues to plan his next marathon race, now that he is focusing more intently on competing as a masters runner.

I was similarly pleased with my performance in the DC Road Runners Run after the Women 5K.  This race begins in Arlington's Bluemont Park, where the course heads northwest to intersect with, and ultimately to run along, the W&OD Trail.  There are some modest bumps along the way, but for the most part, the out-and-back course is flat and fast, and it too fosters some high-level competition.

I am officially a Dunkin' Donuts man, but I will happy take a Starbucks gift card whenever I can

My performance was just a little slower than what I turned in at the Mentoring Matters 5K, but I was still pleased with how things went.  I finished first in my age group (not counting, of course, the overall finishers, who were really, really fast), and given the heavy, thick air, I couldn't have given it much more than what I did.  It was a good way to start a Sunday.

Likewise, my wife was pleased with her race, which she used mostly as a training run.  All of us are looking to target some longer distances later this year, so we will definitely see all of you out there over the next few months.

Just remember to get out early and to hydrate!