Ran the POG 8k in Morristown this morning. It was a nice morning (around mid 60's but felt humid to me). I was able to meet fellow FRB member Denny Utter before the start so that was cool. I did a couple of mile warmup and was feeling ok but didn't really know what to expect since I haven't raced since May and that was a half. Also, my training has been up and down this summer without any faster training. I decided I would go out around 6:20 pace and see what happens.
When the race started I was able to get into my target pace pretty quickly and it felt ok so tired to settle in and stay relaxed. I went through the first mile in 6:22 so was right on pace. I was still feeling ok and there were a couple of people in front of me picking it up so I went with them which helped me stay on pace and came through the second mile in 6:19. I was starting to feel the effort and getting concerned if I would be able to hold this pace the rest of the way. I was able to hold my position but slowed down to 6:28 on the third mile. The forth mile was my worst I was really starting to struggle so slowed down to keep from blowing up. The 4th mile ended up being 6:43. With one mile to go I could hear someone coming up on me and I didn't want to let them catch. I was also kind of mad because I felt like I was giving in too easily so I started pushing to pick back up the pace. The whole last mile I could hear the person behind me but they didn't catch me and I was able to pick up the last mile to 6:32. Came through the finish in 32:24.
Overall I am happy with the race. I ran this same race last year in around 35 minutes so this year was a big improvement. However, I feel like I left a little in the tank on that 4th mile. I probably could have pushed it more. I think if I raced more often I could improve in this area. Also, it is very easy to see that my training is not where it needs to be. I have been getting some decent miles in but am really lacking on tempo runs and strength building runs. I will work to get more of that in my schedule.
I ran a 3 mile cooldown with Denny and it was good to meet him and get to talk more. He great job representing the blog with a 5th place finish! Hopefully we will run into each more often in the upcoming Indy races. | 