Good effort at the race today resulting in new PR of 1:26:47 (chip)
and 3rd place overall (which gave me $25 prize, my first ever cash award)
My plan was to try for the pace needed for 1:25
then see what happens. It's not the best strategy for smart racing but I
think it is a good fitness test.
First three miles were good - 6:18, 6:36, 6:23
Actually during mile 2 I did have a deep sense of doubt that I would not be able to hold a decent pace, but then got back on track for the third mile. Just before the race started I was standing next to a guy who I thought looked pretty fast. I asked him what pace he was planning on running and he said 6:20 to 6:25. I thought that sounded good and would try to follow him and hang on. However, I should have thought better of it since he said he ran 1:21 here last year. Also, next to me at the start was Bret, who I've almost run into at other races, so it was nice to finally meet him. At the beginning of the first mile I tried to follow Alravo (the 1:21 guy) but backed it down after about a 1/4 mile of doing a 5:40 pace. However, I was feeling pretty good at the end of the first mile and sometimes have difficulty getting to the pace I want. For the second mile the two lead guys had pulled ahead significantly.
6:42, 6:35, 6:37, 6:29, 6:32
Slight
hiccup on the 4th mile going up and over the bridge, 5-8 were also good
although a little slower than the pace I needed. At mile 7, almost being at the pace I needed I was hoping that the pull of the second half would let me keep a faster pace.
6:46, 6:55,
6:42, 6:45, 6:43 and 0.14@5:40
9 and 10 were tough
with 10 being my slowest at 6:55, then 11-13 were faster. Glad I was
able to keep myself from falling apart. I was alone for most of the
run, ran with Bret a little bit at the beginning, the 1st and 2nd place
guys were way in front of me (1:19 and 1:22). The race was a lot of fun
and really let me know where I need to be in order to reach 1:25.
I had to really push to get that 6:55 mile down below 7:00, I was
afraid that if I didn't get that one under 7:00 I might fall apart.
I talked to a guy after the race named Ben who was 74 years old and had done over 100 marathons, 50 of which were sub-3:00. He ran about a 1:58 today. Was telling me how there is no substitute for high mileage. I used to be one of those 100 mile per week runners in the 1970's. My miles have been a little bit lower than they used to be although not too bad. My last half marathon PR was 2 years ago, when I was consistently doing mileage in the 60's. I've been doing more speed work, but I some higher mileage would have helped for the second half of the race.
The other thing that was difficult was the pedestrian bridge. I crossed over during miles 4, 5, 9, and 10. Except for mile 5 (6:35), the other crossings were difficult. It wasn't that high but it did get to me a little. Maybe some more hills are in order.
Alravo got a new PR today of 1:19 to win the race and the number 2 guy came in at 1:22 and is my same age. I think Alravo looked a bit like Jesus (but no beard, just the long hair), nice guy and humble, too.
