St. Dot's 5K Challenge - race #8

     After seven weeks of races I was ready for a weekend to sleep in, but not until I ran one more.  I choose the St. Dot's 5K Challenge in Drexel Hill for my final run of the season on May 21.  It was a beautiful sunny day, about 70 degrees, when I arrived at the church to pick up my race bib.  Proceeds from the race, now in its 14th year, help the community through assistance with parish school tuition, athletic fees and other family aid and scholarships funds.  See photos and video of the race at http://tinyurl.com/43t5rax.
     Lining up on Burmont Avenue with over 200 other runners, I recognized some of them from previous races.  One guy told me he had thought about running the Brad Schoener 5K down the street in Arlington at 10 a.m., but decided he probably didn't have enough time to run two races in one morning.  At the sound of the horn, we were off and heading down the hill before turning left on Alexander and then right on Dermond.  My energy level was high as I ran along the pretty tree-lined streets in the Aronimink section of the township.  I was excited about the zig-zag course because it was well-mapped and plenty of race volunteers helped block drivers at the intersections.
     Turning right on Lindale, we made a quick left onto Marvine and down to Agnew.  It was great to see the residents, including kids in their pajamas, out on their front lawns waving to the rush of early morning runners racing by their homes.  Making a right onto Bond Avenue, I decided that the warm sunny weather was becoming a tad too toasty and I was beginning to long for that cold, rainy run I did at Aronimink Elementary School in April. 
     After a left on Turner and then a right on Cedar, I was more than halfway done and ready to reach the finish line.  A right on Morgan and a left on Bond, I finally made it back to Burmont and was somewhat ready to tackle that hill I remembered from the starting line.  Though I was red-faced, sweaty and well, just feeling gross overall, my pace was quick and that I was making good time.  I used to wear a watch when I ran, but for some reason my times were actually slower.  Trudging up Burmont, I gave it my all and crossed the finish line at 28:31.  My second best time this season and I averaged a pace of 9:11.  Kevin was there being awesome as always in my quest of eight races in eight weeks!   Next week I'll wrap up all the races with a "Best Of" list.