P90X-Day 61-Legs and Back & Conquer the Hills 5K in Farmingville, NY

If You Want to Run Hills then Conquer the Hills 5K Race is for You!

This past winter has been really harsh on us New Yorkers! The cold howling winds and wintry mix made running outdoors hazardous and unbearable. So when Old Man Winter took the occasional short break, we took advantage of those rare amazing just warm enough running days.

It’s really fortunate that Irene and I decided to started P90X during this “off” season and take a break from running and really condition the legs for a new running season. All we had to do was press play on our DVD and workout with Tony Horton. It is like having our own personal trainer and in the warmth of our family room.

The last time I laced up and tied my trusty Asics Kayano 16 running shoes was at the 2011 Disney Marathon. Wow, it’s been over 2 months since that race, and Conquer the Hills 5K was my second race of 2011! While I am in the best shape of my life, I was still a little worried, since I limited my road time for P90X. The little jitters disappeared as I remembered that the 5K was to raise money for my friend’s fund raising efforts for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society.

Irene and I arrived about a half an hour prior to the start at 8:00am in front of Lynwood Elementary School. A couple of tables and very enthusiastic volunteers manned the sign in sheets, and crossed off our names and provided a ribbon to notify the race officials that we were runners for the race. We then headed in to the school to stay warm, especially since I wore just a pair of running shorts.

The red headed organizer, Jennifer Ross gathered us to the start of the 1st Annual Race, and gave us a speech to help up get motivated in this chilly weather. It’s supposed to be spring by now! She warned us to stay on the right side of the road rather than the usual left side for pedestrians.

The person who had the blow horn to start the race, fumbled with the trigger, but nothing blew. By the time, he pressed the trigger again, we all ran past him. I left Irene and quickened my pace.

As I made the first left turn on to Berkshire Dr, I gulped as I saw the ascension of the first hill. I later downloaded the elevation stats from my Timex Global Trainer and it was a 300 ft ascension from 95 ft to 395 ft for about ¾ of a mile. That was steeper than James Street for the Cow Harbor 10K. Eventually, I made a right onto Adirondack Dr for the final ascension to reach another 390 ft to finish off the race. It was all downhill after that last one. This was the hilliest race I have ever done.

I finished the race with an unofficial pace of 10:30 (this race was not officially timed), which was pretty good considering the hills, and I made sure I put on the brakes for the downhills. I was so afraid to smash my face by letting gravity carry me down the hills. I figure I would have done closer to a 9:00 pace, but I was cautious. Maybe next year I will let loose. As soon as I crossed the finish, I turned around and waited for Irene. And ran along side of her as we crossed the finish together.

Later on that night, Irene completed Day 61 of P90X (Legs and Back). I was really contemplating switching the workouts around and do X Stretch, but I was like, let’s do it. I was happy to kick Tony Horton’s but in some of the moves, like Calf Lifts, where I use the 35lbs dumb bells and he uses 30 lbs! My goal is to at least keep up with Tony by the end of 90 Days.

Mark down your calendar for next year, and join me on this fun run!

Bring it!
Noah