Stumbled out of bed at 3:45 this morning - literally. No idea what my problem was but I was light headed and couldn't stand up straight. I imagine this is what being drunk feels like. I had serious concerns about running this race. Got ready, got to the busses and didn't feel any better. Figured that I would give it what I had and hope for the best. Pacing 1:35 is a little different. The runners are a little more serious and it is too fast of a pace to hold a conversation. My main focus is to maintain a good, even effort and just be a target for the other runners. Becky had an aggressive goal of 1:35 as well so her plan was to stick with me as long as she could. As the race started, I had a real hard time locking in the pace. Becky had commented that it felt like we were going a little slow and sure enough we were 10 seconds/mile slower than we wanted. I was finally able to find the right effort during the second mile and settled into a nice rythmn. We built a 30 second cushion and maintained that. I walked the second aid station to give back a little time and Becky continued on. That was the last I saw of her. Actually, I was able to watch her the rest of the race from a minute behind her. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful. Was close to right on pace at every mile marker. The hill during the 11th mile took a decent amount of effort but once you crest it, it is smooth sailing the rest of the way. I was 10 seconds ahead of schedule at mile 12 and kept the pace even during the last mile. Somehow ended up 30 seconds early. Finished a little too soon but it was close enough. Becky ended up running 1:33:42 which was incredible. She was worried about 1:35 and she absolutely destroyed her goal.
After looking at the splits, it looks like it was mile 10 that did me in. I don't think I gave the big drop at the end of the 10th mile enough credit when I developed the pace weights. I am not going to adjust it because I don't want to take the seconds away from any of the other miles.
| Mile |
Actual |
Target |
Seconds Diff |
| 1 |
7:10 |
7:15 |
-5 |
| 2 |
7:05 |
7:17 |
-12 |
| 3 |
7:19 |
7:19 |
0 |
| 4 |
7:14 |
7:06 |
+8 |
| 5 |
6:56 |
6:53 |
+3 |
| 6 |
6:52 |
6:53 |
-1 |
| 7 |
7:07 |
7:10 |
-3 |
| 8 |
7:08 |
7:19 |
-11 |
| 9 |
7:25 |
7:21 |
+4 |
| 10 |
7:11 |
7:28 |
-17 |
| 11 |
7:29 |
7:28 |
+1 |
| 12 |
7:21 |
7:21 |
0 |
| 13 |
7:26 |
7:28 |
-2 |
| 13.1 |
0:49 |
0:48 |
+1 |
| 