Over the past 8 days, I’ve knocked off another 10km towards my goal – which means I have completed 45km of competitive events run since March!  That means … there is only one more 5k left before I can say I have completed my #50for50 challenge for 2019!

Two weekends ago I got to run the 5k format in the Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon / 10k / 5k event – and it was an amazing event!  There was a large turnout for the event as a whole, and a then a mini wine festival afterwards with 15 different wineries from Virginia all serving up tastes of their wines.

Running and wine?  Sign me up!

And as has been the case for many of these events recently, some of my spectacular friends (along with my loving and supporting wife) came out to run it along with me!

I made a new PR on the day, finishing at just a bit over a 10-minute pace at 31:51.  I was hoping to break below a 10 minute pace at that event, but it just didn’t end up happening.  However, my finishing pace was about 90 seconds faster per mile than when I started all of this back in March!  So I guess I can’t complain too much …

And then, exactly one week after the Virginia Wine event – I ran the Dash Through The Dirt 5k up on the C&O canal towpath at Carderock, Maryland and I finally broke that goal!  Coming in at 30:47, I had a 9:56/mi pace … and an average speed through the event of 6.1mph.

If you’d told me a year ago I could run at 6 miles per hour for 3 straight miles, nonstop … I would have asked you to share whatever it was you were smoking.  And yet … here we are!  I just did exactly that!  What a difference a year makes…

My next goal, is to have a sub-30m finish time.  And I’m going to make my attempt for that finish time at the Firecracker 5k in Reston Town Center on the 4th of July.  So I’ve got to train carefully in the next few weeks (I’m still working through some shin pain from this much over-use) but I think it’s possible!

Here is the second-to-last #50for50 challenge table, current as of 10-June.

#50for50 Challenge Event	Official Time	Pace	Average/Max Speed
Bluemont Shamrock 5k	36:24	11:45 (new 5k PR)	5.1mph / 8.47mph
Rock Creek Park 5k	35:04	11:19 (new 5k PR)	5.2mph / 6.9mph
National Beer Day 5k	38:10	12:19 (injury)	5.0mph / 6.8mph
The North Face Endurance Challenge 10k	1:09:26	11:32 (new 10k PR)	5.2mph / 6.6mph
Friends of Claude Moore Park 5k	41:04	14:11 (mud bog!)	4.2mph / 6.6mph
National Wine Day 5k	33:01	10:39 (new 5k PR)	5.5mph / 7.6mph
Virginia Wine Country 5k	31:51	10:16 (new 5k PR)	5.8mph / 7.7mph
Dash Through The Dirt 5k	30:47	9:56 (new 5k PR)	6.1mph / 7.3mph
	-45k-	-Completed-
Firecracker 5k July 4 @ Reston Town Center (REGISTERED)

Now that the finish line of the #50for50 challenge is just around the corner … I think the #1 frequently-asked-question I’ve been hearing from friends is …

“So, after that … are you going to stop?”

To which – my answer is … “I have a feeling I won’t.”

So after the 4th of July, I plan to take a few weeks off from running events … take stock of where I’ve been and where I’m going … and consider a few more events for the 2nd half of the year.  Right now I am registered for the Marine Corps Marathon 10k format in October – but I could see adding in a couple more runs along the way.  These are just a few of the ones that I’m looking at right now …

• Run First Wine Later 5k July 20 @ Tarara Winery (potential event)
• Leesburg 20k/5k August 18 @ Leesburg (potential event)
• EX2 Backyard Burn October 6 @ Lake Fairfax (potential event)
• Marine Corps Marathon 10k October 27 @ DC (REGISTERED)
• The North Face Endurance Challenge San Francisco November 17 (potential event)

Thanks again to all of you who have shared words of encouragement, or have come out to see me run, or have actually run with me!  It truly is a blessing, and I thank each and every one of you for it!  Your support helps me go farther!

“If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together…”