Race Flyer desribed course as 'Hot & Hilly", and after an 18 miler on Friday, at the one mile mark, I was not happy with my decision to run this race, as history tells me I need rested legs to run fast. After a 6:50 mile, which included 170' of climb, I can honestly say I have never been breathing so heavy at the 1 mile mark in a race ... not too mention my legs were screaming at me. Yep, went out way too fast first 1/4 mile as usual, and then the climb started. My goal was to win the Masters, which came with a sweet trophy & a $75 prize. Towards the end of the first mile I got passed by a guy who definitely looked over 40, and he was like on cruise control while I was gasping for air. Also got passed by another guy who looked 40ish, who was not laboring either. The uphill continued & the first guy was out of sight before long & the second guy was gapping me pretty quickly! I had to slow to get my breathing under control, but was more concerned about my screaming legs, and was seriously considering an easy 5 mile run the rest of the way ... but I didn't pay $20 for that, so hung on & figured I would settle for a solid 6 mile fast tempo run, my secondary goal. Next thing I knew I was getting passed by another guy who was def 40+ & it sounded like another half dozen set of footsteps directly behind me! I never looked backed & picked up the pace to run side by side with the guy attempting to pass me, with footsteps right behind us. Finally, almost half way into Mile 3, the big downhill began, and yes, I live for downhill running! I blocked out the pain & pulled back ahead, but knew I had to throw the hammer down, or I would be getting passed again on the next uphill. I had been struggling to try to hold a 7 min pace, but threw in a half mile at a 6 min pace ... closing the gap on the guy in front of me from about 200 yards to 100. As we rounded a turn at the bottom I glanced back, and sure enough I had put a good distance between myself and the pack I had been with ... unfortunately now I felt like I was in no mans land! Fortunately, my legs had livened up a little, and my breathing was a little more under control. The decline became more gradual mixed with flats, but there was enough for me to keep slowly closing the distance on my next target. By the time we hit Mile 5, where the uphill started again, I had closed to about 30 yards, what I considered to be striking distance if I could just hang on. Fortunately he was no longer motoring uphill like he had been in Mile 2, and I inched my way closer ... which was exactly the positive mojo I was needing to keep pushing at this point. At the 5 mile split I was only about 10 back & wanted to get a better feel for my competition, so I pulled even for a little while to assess things. At this point, we had both closed the gap on the next target to only about 30 yards, so i told the guy 'let's reel him in. Started pushing harder, and he only stayed with me for about a 100 yards. I was gaining but really concerned, because I was pushing my limit & there was a big uphill ahead ... I don't like these , especially when I am whooped! Apparently he was whooped to as I kept gaining on the incline. As I passed him he gave me words of encouragement, and said great job attacking the hill ... not sure I ever heard that one before! lol Anyway, his words of encouragement helped, so I pushed a little more. Never thought I would catch the next runner, who was the 2nd place female finisher, as she was about 50 ahead, but kept getting closer. I felt confident if I could close half the gap, I could catch her in the last quarter mile. I passed her with about 100 yards to go, & she tried to go with me ... I went to sprint mode & with some enthusiastic spectators at the finish threw the hammer down & pulled substantially ahead! I nearly puked/collapsed after finishing but was really happy with my effort, figured I probably won my age group, but never even saw the guy again that had passed me in the first mile ... until about 20 minutes after the race, where I congratulated him on a great race, & told him he probably won Masters! He looked at me funny, don't even think he knew what a Master was, so I asked his age ... 36! I swear he looked 43 minimum!! Hmmm ... maybe I did win, thank goodness I did not throw in the towel at the 2 mile mark like I was considering! Sure enough, I got the big trophy & $75 to boot! What a pleasant surprise!! 42:50 is not a great time, but considering heat & hills, it was everything I had to do it, and I was pleased with my time ... early in the race I decided I would be thrilled if I could hold a sub 7 pace considering conditions & my long run Friday. This was the identical time I ran Peachtree in July 4 ... but I think this course was tougher ... and that one had a lot more adrenalin/race atmosphere on its side.
Sorry for the long report ... first time I ever won cash and bigger than a 6" trophy! :-) I ate hot wings & drank beer to celebrate! * I ended up winning Masters by 40 seconds, but I did not pass the guy that finished second until just after the 5 mile mark.
| Split |
El Gain |
El Loss |
Avg Pace |
| 1 |
170 |
55 |
6:50 |
| 2 |
144 |
102 |
7:15 |
| 3 |
0 |
172 |
6:29 |
| 4 |
17 |
107 |
6:42 |
| 5 |
132 |
63 |
7:04 |
| 6 |
88 |
52 |
6:59 |
| 0.27 |
0 |
0 |
5:37 |
| 6.27 |
552 |
552 |
6:50
|
| 