Mews Tavern 10th Gear and Beer 5k

Today was the Mews Tavern 10th Gear and Beer 5k in Wakefield, RI. This race is a local favorite - mostly for the post race party. We got their a bit early and tried to find a place to stay warm and out of the wind. A little after 11am, Justin and I went to warm up. Since neither of us have run this race before, we decided to go check out the hill we heard about. The hill wasn't that bad - but knowing it will be around the 2.5 mile mark during the race was kind of intimidating.

After the warm-up Justin and I lined up in the 1st group of runners (sub 23:00). After some chatting, and noticing the fast runners around us - the gun went off. First mile has a fairly decent hill to start and really took a bit out of me. Justin and I hung together for the first mile which clocked in at 6:59. Slower than anticipated - but that hill did a number on that split. Right after we passed the first mile, Justin said he wasnt going to be able to maintain that pace and to just go. We planned on holding back a little on the 2nd mile to save some for the hill at the end - 2nd mile split was 7:16. Right before the big hill, I noticed my son (with the person that was watching him and family) on the side of the road cheering me on. This gave me a boost and I was able to take the hill at a pretty decent pace and was able to pass a handful of people. Third mile split clocked in at 7:32. I was feeling pretty tired when my watch beeped the third mile - but still was able to muster up a 5:59 pace for the last 1/10 a mile. As I finished I noticed Justin was right behind me - so much for dropping back.

Place: 141/1147
Chip Time/Pace: 22:27.34/7:13
Gun Time/Pace: 22:34.13/7:15

Shout outs
Celina Juliano - 31:43 (FIRST RACE EVER!)
Justin Finch - 22:29
Carson Colmore - 31:27
Tim Coffey - 30:02
Shawn Murdock - 34:55
Lance Swenson - 28:06
Mark Wood - 22:14