I wasn't expecting a particularly impressive time - but undercut my low expectations. Have only been running seriously again since mid-April and the idea here was simply to use this as a training run, completing a 47-mile week, but had been aiming for about 1:37. Many basic things went haywire. Had to get up at 4:30am to drive out to Tanglewood in time to pick up the race packet and had been intending to go to bed early but couldn't fall asleep until 12:30 or so. Ate dinner (spaghetti and tomato sauce) very late. It was a beautiful course but there turned out to be no prize money so the field was small with not very skilled runners -- the competition push was more or less absent. Finally, a very hilly course, which is all to the good.
Started out according to plan at 7:15 or so and intended to stay in the 7:20-7:30 range the whole race. By mile 6 though I was in real gastrointestinal distress. Spaghetti's revenge. Took a two minute pit stop, which helped a bit, but then tried to make the time up too fast and not only got into a bad heart rate/breathing pattern but brought on a recurrence of the stomach problem. The upshot was an 8:05 mile and then an 8:30 mile, which was all she wrote. Started feeling good again around mile 8, but by that time was three or four minutes back of the lead pack and didn't get the usual boost from being around stronger runners. Tootled along at 7:25 and didn't really make up any more time. The last two miles were largely uphill.
Anyway, as a training run it was good, but as a race -- not sore at all, meaning presumably that I left a lot out there. Will try to get over 50 this week including the mileage from today.
Picked up some samples of Generation UCAN, which Meb seems to be endorsing. Interested in it more as a way of regulating my blood sugar at night but we'll see if it has any performance benefit. If anyone else is using it I'd be interested to hear about their experience.
Will dig up the Garmin and post splits for archival purposes at some point. Not sure if there's a course elevation map. It was the inaugural run of this race. Well organized I thought.
Postscript -- Splits:
1 - 7:10 (went out too fast)
2- 7:43 (paid for it)
3- 7:22
4- 7:17
5- 7:44 (kind of gassed)
6- 7:37
7- 7:31
8- 8:06 (gassed)
9- 8:28 (really gassed)
10- 7:34 (catching my breath, but it's all old guys back here)
11- 7:24
12- 7:36
13- 7:35
13.1 - :53 (wheeeee... half-full tank)
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