I was worried about running this race because of the "lung burn" I got doing my mile race two days ago. It's still bothering me some. Now, I know I can run, but racing as hard as I can might trigger it again. And to have it happen while I'm running was scaring me.
A lot of people showed up, more than normal. We got to run next to Tempe Town Lake instead of the road because they finally opened that part of it back up. The only bad part of that was a couple patches of gnats. When I ran there a few weeks ago there was a lot more gnats. I hate those little bichos.
When the race started Nick Coury took off in the lead. Nick has evolved into quite the public figure in the local running community. It didn't take long for me to settle into 2nd place. I was constantly looking at my Garmin to make sure I wasn't running too fast or too slow. I wanted to run a 7 minute flat pace. I started a bit fast, so I slowed down. After 1:29 my Garmin beeped at me. I had set it to alert me for every 1:29 for my mile race. I also set it to record my quarter splits. So, I realized that I hadn't changed it back and that it was going to be beeping a lot. Oh well. At least I'd know exactly where I was.
I had Nick in my sights for most of the first half of the out and back course. He wasn't even trying though. He ran a 5:03 mile two nights ago at the Open Mile. Then he got too far ahead and I lost him. It was dark and the path was winding. I began to wonder if I was supposed to turn or something. Before long I saw him coming back. We exchanged pleasantries, and he looked as relaxed as a Jabba the Hut on weed.
As I was coming back I saw that I had the same lead on the 3rd place guy as Nick had on me. It now became a race against the clock. Everytime I looked at my Garmin it seemed like I was right on pace. There were a couple of small hills that really suck the energy out of you. But they were so small I tried to power up them and relax on the backside to catch my breath. My plan was to run steady until I hit the last hill, then kick to the finish. But I misjudged how close it was to the finish and lost some time. Then when I got up the hill I held back a little still afraid that I would get hit by the bronchitis bus again.
I knew the course was going to be short, so I checked the Garmin right before crossing the finish line. I was at 3.04 miles and decided to keep going until I hit 3.10. I finished in 21:54, a post high school PR. It took me a while to catch my breath. But I had 0.06 miles to walk it off and go congratulate Nick. Then we cheered on the rest of the runners as they came in including my Facebook friend David Weeks and new friend I met tonight Toothless Dave. He seems like a nice guy and now wants to be my new running partner. LOL! ay yi yi.
After the race Muscle Milk was there handing out free samples. I got vanilla. Mmm-mmm! I also got a pack of blueberry/pomegranate Gu Chomps, a vial of 5 Hour Energy (anybody want it?), and a Roadrunner Sports beanie. I didn't win anything in the raffle, but David Weeks won a free entry into the PF Changs Rock and Roll Marathon. He said he didn't want to run it. I wonder if he'd be willing to sell it. (Anybody want it?) Then there was a Ultra Running 101 Clinic that Nick put on. Now I want to do an ultra.
Quarter Splits - 1:45, 1:44, 1:45, 1:46, 1:43, 1:46, 1:47, 1:44, 1:43, 1:49, 1:52, 1:44, and 0:40 for 0.10.
Mile Splits - 7:02, 7:03, 7:10, 0:40 for 0.10 (6:44 pace) | 