AM: Ran the parkrun again- was relatively cool for the first time this year, and was the coolest race since.... Boston marathon? 64 degrees, cloudy, humid.. I was expecting to run a 16:30 and clambered in at 16:19, besting my last course record by 35 seconds. I say clambered, because this course is just so challenging.
Good news- I definitely think 15:59 will happen here, it will happen soon, and I think I'm the one to do it first, but I'll have to hurry. The British are starting to show up, and it's only a matter of time a college XC/track runner decides to holiday in the area. I am in 15:30 shape currently, so I think if I just keep doing what I'm doing, I can take a real hack at it on the 21st of December. I think I might keep running the course the next two weekends, but only as a workout basis.
Bad news- I didn't give a full effort today. I did convince myself that I was, but the heart rate tells a different story. In hindsight, I could tell a handful of times I mindlessly accepted my brain lying to me about my effort. A minute after I finished, I was ready to race the route again.
How I can improve on this course- Really, it comes down to the three turnarounds and the 90 degree turns- I just have no tenacity when it comes to building back up to pace and still am sloppy about it when I do work my way back up there. I also can make up time with a smoother/more efficient start (I should run striders more formally prior to the 5k to fix this), and lastly I should immediately start flooring it at the final turnaround at the lookout tower. Also worth noting, I should be coming into that last section at or below 12:29 if I am to have a chance.
This course is straight-up home-field advantage, which I'm loving. I really don't see someone killing this course without running it once at minimum. The gps is pretty much worthless.
This is turning into one of my favorite mini-goals I've ever had.
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