Cool (high 30’s) and cloudy ruled the air in Cambridge for the Spring Classic 5K. The course is flat thus in theory, fast. I ran this course back when it was a New England Grand Prix 5K Championship a decade ago. Team Notch was set up in the tent area. The quad was loaded with tents, probably over 40 made up of running clubs or local Cambridge companies. Cases of Castle Island piled under each tent.
Bib pickup was seamless and plenty of port-o-johns ready. I
ran a 12 minute warm up and got into the start line 30 rows deep within a huge
field (2.5K runners). After the start line pistol went off, the start was
crowded for the first three turns all within the first .3 miles before reaching
Mass Ave. I reached the mile at 7:27. I slowed during the second mile to a 7:53
but was well under the 8:00 minute per mile pace goal for the day. My right
quad, the strong one, was burning in a good way.
The last mile slowed again to an 8:02 before opening up a
bit for the last .17 at 7:10 pace. I crossed the finish line in 24:35 per my
watch, measured 3.17 miles and 7:45 pace. The unofficial time had me at 23:34,
7:55 pace. My average heart rate was only 140 bpm for the event, well under the
160+ per race since getting back into it in February. Am I seeing fitness
improve with my 18 miles run per week? I headed out for cool down out to the
Charles River and a lap around the MIT track where I spent many workouts and
races in the late 90’s early 2000’s.
Spring Classic 5K race results March 30, 2025
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