Went to Philly to run a large-ass road race--I think there were 40K runners. The course was mostly all straight and point-to-point. I figured I had a shot at a PR in the race but I wasn't sure since I've been so far removed from the long tempo efforts that got me in such good half shape in Feb/March.
I started too fast but the course is a net downhill. I think it was 5:04 so I relaxed and worked on catching some guys so I had some people to run with for a few miles. I caught a few at mile 3 but I wanted to go faster so I left them and then ran most of the remainder of the race alone. Was 25:5x something through 5 miles and about 32:20 through 10K. I struggled quite hard at miles 8 and 9 and once I looked at my Strava auto-splits after the race I realized my pace slipped to 5:20 and 5:22 for those miles. It was tough as my legs did not have that "pop" and my calves were hurting. I regained my composure and lurched forward for a final mile in 5:12. A couple of guys came by me in the last 600-400 and I chased them down with a kick. I finished in 52:38-not bad but off my PR of 52:25.
My first take is that I should no longer use my Takumi Sen racing flats for any race above 10K. My calves were hurting and I did not have much support in the legs. I should have worn my Adios like I did at Shamrock.
My second take is that I was just getting tired from months of training and races. It's hard to maintain great racing form for multiple months and continue to train at the same time and expect PRs. Legs and mind were a bit stale. I think Pike's Peek was about it for the season and I hung on for a week to do Broad Street.
This season has been good as I started puting in more consistent efforts and workouts beginning in Janurary. This got me back down to sub 1:10 in the half and I managed to snag a 10K PR this season as well. I've found that I need to change up my training stimulus a bit if I expect to gain anymore PRs. I'm quite seasoned in running as I've been at this for a number of years. The same-old lame-ass workouts don't do as much to spark improvement as they used to. I'm going to devote a few weeks to strength and top end speed this summer and run a mile race and a 5K or two. After that I'll give the fall season a go for a half PR and maybe a 10 mile PR at Army.
I have new workouts and new thinking in my head. I'll have to be patient and consistent as I'm also moving in June and my routine will change. For now I am going to take a rest week with some light running and maybe some pool.
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