2 miles warmup with 0.5 at Threshold in 15:36, 7:48/mi, HR 150. 15K race in 59:02, 6:20/mi, HR 174. Garmin splits: 6:20, 6:21, 6:28, 6:29, 6:22, 6:15, 6:23, 6:21, 6:15, 1:45. 9 miles in 1:11:22, 7:55/mi, HR 153. Woke up to cold and rainy conditions at 6am after not so sound sleep. Got prepared and drove to Orting, WA to run in their 15K race today. Goals for myself were to PR, which was easy since I'd never run a 15K before, try to finish in under an hour, and to keep as close to a 6:20/mi pace or under as possible. About 400 runners total for the three races (5K, 10K, 15K) which was more than I'd expected. Since this is the first time they'd offered a 15K, I guessed that the field would not be too large. The course was an out and back on the Foothills trail, a former rail right-of-way converted to an asphalt trail that I'd run on several times in the past. It's not quite flat-as-a-pancake but relative to where I normally run it sure feels like it. The route departs the middle-school west of town and actually runs back through town with several 90 degree turns, pops out the other side and straightens out to run along stretches of the Puyallup river, farm fields (including an ostrich farm), and some roads. The 5/10/15K races all start together in a mass start and proceed along the same course.
About 35 minutes before the start, I went out on a 2 mile warmup. I decided to throw in a 0.5 mile stretch at a 6:15-6:20 pace in an attempt to get my body used to running at that speed. Since Tempo pace is supposed to be the pace you could hold for an hour, and I was trying to run the 15K in about an hour, and knowing that the first stretch of tempo runs are usually hard for me, I wanted to give my body a taste of what was to come. Great plan somewhat spoiled by a late start, as they didn't begin the race until around 9:11 (9:00 scheduled start). Since the three races all started together, I really didn't have a good idea who the competition was. There was one guy who I believe I'd run in a race with in the past and who'd finished quite a bit faster than me that I knew was running the 15K, so I added another goal of making sure I at least kept him in sight. The call went out for the "elite" runners, defined by the announcer as those running sub 7-minute miles, to make their way to the front. The very first time in my life I've ever fit anyone's definition of "elite". So finally at 9:11 we were off. Miraculously, the rain quit about 30 minutes before the race so the weather was fairly nice. I was in a long sleeve shirt, gloves and my CW-X tights fearing I might have overdressed a bit (I didn't). There's a guy in the area that must run every single 5K race there is as I see him at all of them who shot to the lead, and I started about 12-15 folks back. Quickly settled into a good 6:20 pace that felt tempo-like. During my 0.5 tempo warmup, my legs felt tired but for now the magic of race-gear had me feeling good as I got into a good rhythm. Worked my way through town and passed a few folks on the way to hit the 1 mile mark in 6:20. Perfect. At the 5K turnaround, several of the folks ahead of me made the turn, which left two or three folks ahead of me. The guy I'd remembered from a previous race had the lead and I noticed I was gaining on him ever so slightly, so I tried to stay loose and to keep the effort as hard as I felt I could sustain. Second mile in 6:21, still feeling pretty good by my breathing was starting to transition out of my comfortable 3-3 into a 3-2 rhythm. I decided not to panic and to find out if 2-2 was really sustainable for a longer race and kept after the leader. I was able to reel him in to within a couple of feet by the 3 mile mark despite a slower split (6:28). Hmmm, it really felt like I was running sub-6:20s at the time, but I wasn't paying much attention to Garmin but rather was pushing by effort. About the same time I managed to pass the other runner, I got passed! I was not happy about that, especially since I could tell he was trying to put me away with an unsustainable acceleration (I hoped), so I hung on his shoulder to the 10K turnaround in around 19:38. He made the turn and I found myself in uncharted territory, in the lead of the 15K. After a brief mental celebration, I realized now I was in the unenviable position of having to push myself without daring to look back to see if my pursuers were gaining or falling behind. It was definitely hard going now and my breathing had just transitioned to 2-2, so I knew I was at my max sustainable velocity for the distance. Mile four came in 6:29 which seems a bit slow, but it did have a small uphill section to deal with leading to a bridge. Hit the 15K turnaround in about 29:37ish, so I knew I had a small cushion to hit a sub-60 minute race, but not much. I had two pursuers within about 20-30 seconds of me I got to see at the turn point, so I put on my best "I feel good despite laboring for air" face as they passed. Fortunately that didn't have to last long as I was really working to maintain speed. Mile 5s split was 6:22 and mile 6s split was 6:15, getting better and taking advantage of the smaller downhill section. I hit 10K in around 39:33 I believe, and I knew I just had 5K left so I started doling out the little bit of energy I had in reserve. Coming back upon some of the other runners running the 5/10K helped mentally and I hit mile 7 in 6:23 and mile 8 in 6:21. With about a mile and a half to go, I could feel my form starting to get away from me. It was mentally difficult to stay focused and to keep on pushing but I kept comparing the distance in my mind to a familiar stretch of road on my street, which helped. Mile 9 came in 6:16 but I was starting to really lose focus and could tell I was about spent. The last .3 went by mercifully fast in 1:45 and I crossed the finish in 59:06 according to my watch (official times to be posted sometime in the coming week). I'd won! Not just my age group but the race itself. Wow, I really didn't expect that. Now I know the competition was exactly world class but I had not expected to win a race yet for some time so I was (and am) ecstatic! I'm sure the finish line photo will have a nicely frame view of my grimace when its ready, but I managed to hang on and meet my sub-60 minute goal. I was even pretty darned close to maintaining a 6:20 pace the whole way. Even without winning, the race schwag was decent. Now maybe I'm a cheap date, but any race that gives away a free 24oz Emerald City Smoothie is tops in my book. Plus, I don't know the yogurt brand they had after the race, but it was the best darned yogurt I've ever tasted in my entire life. Really. Plus, for winning I got a nice ribbon, a free entry to next year's race ($20 was this year's fee) plus a gift certificate for South Sound Running (a local shoe store) for a free pair of shoes. Woo hoo! And I got a free giant chocolate candy bar of some sort. I must have found heaven on earth! After all the the festivities and awards, I went out for another 9 miles to finish the day a little about 20 miles (since this was long run day *and* I was on top of the world, the last 9 felt great too!). I'm really happy with my time since the McMillan predictor now shows I've got a sub-3 hour marathon in me and I still have a couple of months before the marathon. Plus, the bonus of actually winning a race is a huge lift that have me impossible to live with for at least the rest of the day! My only regret is that I foolishly hadn't ordered a FRB singlet early enough before the ran out of stock, and just talked to Steve the other day about when they'd be in. Frankly, I was a bit embarrassed to wear one unless I felt like I was doing well in races and I never guessed that I'd be in the position I found myself in today. Other than that, a great running day! Oh, and I almost forgot. I went to claim my smoothie and talked for quite a while with the store owner (new owner actually). She's a runner too that'd wanted to run today but had to work. In any event, after talking for quite some time about Seattle and Portland (which she's run too), she starts heaping product samples into a bag for me to try. Now normally I'm all over anything free, but I really felt like she was giving away too much (3 doses of Accelerade and a handful of their gel shots) and I tried to protest, but she'd have none of it. Needless to say, that store is now officially my favorite post-Foothills Trail run pit-stop from here on out. I tend to run the trail more often in the summer on long run days, so I'll be sure to repay the favor and buy as many smoothies as I can handle! Brooks Adrenaline (Yellow) - 377 miles. Official results posted today (3/17) had my time at 59:02, probably more accurate since I didn't hit my watch right at the finish. | 