This is by far the best I've run in a race. I felt good for a good majority of the race and was able to hold on for the last two miles. The goal was to finish in 1:30. My watch showed 1:27:13, but the race clock showed 1:26:43. I'll stick with my watch time.
Miles 1-5: 6:16, 6:23, 6:35, 6:42, 6:59
So the plan was to find Josse at the beginning and try and run with her. I knew she was planning on 1:30 or less. I spotted her and a couple of other about a quarter of a mile into the race and caught up with them. It was great to run with a group. The first 4 miles flew right by and we were kicking along at a pretty good pace. Honestly, our pace at the beginning gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the race.
Miles 6-10: 6:45, 6:16, 6:04, 7:20, 6:23
Still feeling pretty good. Don't know what the 7:20 mile was all about. Perhaps the mile markers were off a bit. At mile marker nine I took some Gu and stopped at the water station. I was starting to feel pretty tired.
Miles 11-13.1: 6:37, 14:49
Mile 10-11 was rough. There were some switchbacks and I was really feeling it pretty good. I knew that if I just went at 8:00 for the last two miles that I would make the 1:30 mark. Surprisingly, I was able to hold on a little better than I thought I would be able to. I got passed in the last half mile by two people I beleive, but was able to pass a couple within the last mile. I was very pleased with the way things went. I had some serious doubts that I would be able to sustain a sub-7 minute pace throughout the race. Hopefully I can cut some minutes off at Hobble Creek in a couple of weeks.
Lifted weights for 30 minutes in the evening and did the elliptical for 30 minutes. | 