The weather was pretty much perfect this morning. I arrived at the park next to the lake and there was only a slight breeze and it was quite warm. Baring an injury or some other major setback, I knew a PR and a sub 1:30 marathon was in store. Everything indicated that I was capable of running a sub 1:27. That was really what I was shooting for.
I could not decide what to wear. It seemed warm enough for shorts, but I was kind of concerned wearing them for 13.1 miles. When warming up, I saw an Asian guy with shorts, a singlet and arm warmers. I figured if he could do that, I could certainly throw on shorts. I did that, but kept on a ColdGear top with my LVRR singlet on top. I had to represent the local club, 3 hours from home. A guy came up to me at the start and asked if I was from Allentown. He was from the area too. I think he cheered for me when I went by him one time too. I also wore gloves, but didn't go with a headband.Even though there wasn't much of wind, I knew it would still be a headwind on the way out. The course is two out and back segments of around 3 miles each. I ran it yesterday, so I was prepared. I was glad that the wind would be better in one direction when compared with the other.
I put on a bunch of KT Tape, but it didn't stick well and fell off throughout the race. I saw some of it on my second loop. There were already a lot of people lined up when I got to the start. I had to make my way through them toward the front of the line. I began a bit farther back, so that I wouldn't go out too fast. I was probably around 30th or 40th in the beginning. I figured I'd finish somewhere around 20th.
I went out somewhat easy. I was actually surprised at how difficult breathing was in this opening mile. I had to remind myself that I was going into the wind and this is still a long race. I just didn't want to overextend myself early.
Some people passed me in this first mile. The women's leader and several other women were among them. The Asian guy went by too. Earlier, he had told someone that he wasn't going to run fast. I opened with a 6:46 first mile. That was behind my goal pace of 6:38, but I wasn't going to force the issue.
My legs didn't feel great. Maybe that run yesterday did them in. They definitely weren't as sharp as they were the previous afternoon. I had to deal with whatever I had. I ate some crappy eggs for breakfast. That probably didn't help.
Within the second mile, I was already passing other runners. I don't understand why so many people start out so fast in long races. That is understandable with inexperienced people at the back of the back. It is inexcusable with sub 1:30 people doing it regularly. I passed at least one, I think two women and the Asian guy in this mile. I was happy to drop the second mile to 6:44.
We lost some of the wind at mile 3. The path went away from the lake and looped around. I felt good and put in a fairly quick mile. I remember looking at my watch and thinking it was too fast at 6:32. It did however, get me closer to goal time.
Going back was great. It was with the wind at my back and I cruised along. I think it was slightly downhill too. I could see all the people behind me that were heading out. By now, I was already on my own. That's one issue with these smallish races. There aren't too many people to run with. The two women's leaders were up ahead of me, but they were pulling away. Mile 4 was run at 6:40.
Somewhere around mile 5, I caught up and passed a guy. I saw him earlier in the race and he had on a hydration pack. I'm thinking he was some type of army guy. It didn't take me long to lose him, much like the 2nd place woman was losing me. I ran on my toes/forefoot until about this point. Then, I realized that might foot might start bothering me, so I went more to a midfoot strike. I was able to keep the pace.It became a lonely run from that point on. I don't think I passed another runner, other than lapping people. No other runners passed me either. Mile 5 was a 6:36 and mile 6 was a 6:25. I worried myself a little, because I didn't want to go that fast. However, it was the course conditions that warranted that.
Earlier, I was getting hot, so I rolled up the sleeves and took off my gloves. I held them for the rest of the race, along with my keys. My goal was to try to remain consistent. I was around 6:40 pace overall at this point. My legs were feeling it somewhat though and I wondered how I could keep the pace up, especially because I was getting hot. I soldiered on though.
We went past the starting line. That was where the only crowd was situated. Other than volunteers, there were almost no people on the course. Passing the people heading the other way, there were plenty of them to shout encouragement and that was a boost.
After a short segment, it was back to the original starting line, for the second out and back. The first part of this out and back was without question the toughest. I was right around goal pace and my plan was to just stay there until the turn around. That was easier said than done though, with a headwind again and this time, already half of the race complete.
I tried to stay focused on each little mile. Getting to mile 7 was great and mile 8 was even better. I was carrying a gel and decided at mile 7.5 to use it. I figured maybe it could help me fight the wind. I wanted to save it for later, but I thought that coming back would be easier.
This one mile at a time approach worked. I managed to make it through the tough part. The hardest mile was certainly the last one before the turn around. After a wide open lakeside segment, the trail curves in and out for what seems like forever. The leaders had already passed me on their way back before that spot.
Finally, I hit the turnaround with joy. I grabbed some water to wash down the gel packet. I think I drank 3 times during the race. That was one nice thing about 36 degree weather, hydration wasn't as important.
Coming back was great. By now, I was slightly under my goal pace. I knew I just needed to be consistent. The gel seemed to kick in. Although the legs were getting tired, I had energy and felt good. I really felt like my goal was within grasp.
I looked at my watch often. I was thrilled when with less than 2 miles left, it said a 6:36 pace. I figured that I was about 20 seconds under my goal time. I was thrilled to make it to miles 11 and 12. My watch was ahead of the mile markers earlier, but now it was slightly behind. It was only about .03 miles behind though.
I was on my own coming to the finish. That was kind of tough. I knew I could never catch the woman in front of me and by seeing everyone at the turnaround, I knew I had a crazy lead. I saw mile 12 was a 6:40, so I knew to pick it up slightly. I wondered how the race would finish. Did it do the short loop again or finish straight through the chute?
I soon had my answer. With about half a mile to go, I knew that I had to go around the loop. As I got to the Salt Museum near the finish line, I realized that the course might be long. My pace was still 6:36 and I didn't have a lot left. I could've found more, but I was happy with my run and thought I'd be under goal time. Looking back, I had some mental tactics in my back pocket that I probably should've used.
As I got closer and closer to the finish line, I realized that I was running quite a bit more than 13.1 miles. When I hit that point, I was somewhere around 1:26:30. I still had a decent distance to travel. I picked it up and ran very hard. It wasn't enough though. I came through at 1:27:04, just over my goal time.
I was definitely happy with the run overall, but disappointed that they course seemed a little long, especially when my watch was close heading into the final mile. I was also bothered that I didn't find 7 more seconds and push myself at the end. Lesson learned, don't rely on my watch so much.
My official time was actually 1:27:06. I'm still thrilled because that is over a 6 minute PR. I also don't feel like my legs were at their best today. I ran smart and consistent and that's all you can ask for. I finished 19th overall and missed an age group award by one spot. That guy did beat me by 9 minutes though.
I'm a bit sore, but overall not too bad. I could tell that my endurance really paid off in this one. Even with the quick pace, I didn't lose it until the last mile. By then, I could fight through it too. Tomorrow, I'd like to run an easy 4 miler. I think that that is better for recovery than total rest would be. I might take the following day off. I have my marathon in 3 weeks. I'm going to be very close a sub 3 hour marathon. I need to take it easy from here on out and just run at marathon pace every now and then to get used to it.
Unofficially 13.2 miles - 1:27:04 (6:35 pace)
Officially 13.1 miles - 1:27:06 (6:39 pace)
19 out of 584 overall
4th in age group (although really 6th, as two of top three were my age group)
No comments:
Post a Comment