It was crazy hot for this late in the year, so our 10:30 start ended up being almost to late. I think it was in the mid 70's by the time we finished the race.
My plan was to try and keep up with my dad for as long as I could. That plan didn't last too long. Within the first half mile my dad was about a quarter mile ahead of me and by 1.5 miles he was out of site.
And I wasn't moving any to slow. I finished my first mile in 8:12. Way faster then I had planed or wanted to. My goal for the race was to average a 9 minute mile pace.
I had no clue I was going so fast (for me)... I just got caught up in the flow of the race. Unfortunately at that pace my leg muscles got really tight and didn't loosen up until somewhere in the 4th mile.
I gradually slowed my pace. I think mile two was around 8:45 and mile 3 was right at 9. I finished the first three miles in under 27 minutes!
And then we hit the hills. They weren't to bad at first. In fact by mile 5 I was thinking I might be able to finish in 55 minutes, something that seemed unconceivable to me when I started.
The last mile killed all those dreams. That last mile was all most all uphill... at least that's what it felt like. I think my last mile was a 10:30 mile or slower.
And by the time I crossed the finish line I was hurting. As you can see from this picture here.
So I finished in 57:03. 3 minutes faster then I thought I would. It ended up being a 9:14 per mile pace. I am ecstatic at how well the race went.
Once again the weather was perfect, the atmosphere was great, the other runners were fun and supportive and the scenery was superb. We were running through the woods on paved trails and it was the peak of fall leaf season, so there was plenty to look at during the race.
The only downer on the day was my daughter Maggie getting stung by a bee. That's why she's not in this cute photo. She recovered like a champ though. After 20 minutes of crying on mom's shoulder and a chocolate bar, she was full recovered and ready to run her own race...which she says she won!
I am starting to figure somethings out with the new workout routine. More on that later.
Tony
1 comment:
That's a fantastic time!
I still haven't learnt how to go slowly at the beginning of the race. I always get caught up in the excitement and go too fast as well.
But sounds like it was a great day (except for the bee sting!).
Post a Comment