Race day! Windy, temp 55-60'
I rode to the race with a neighbor and arrived with just enough time to pack away my warmups and do a brief run and go to the starting line. I saw Cal at the start, he looked ready for a good race. I was hoping for 6:15 mile average and maybe a 1:21:59. As I took off I felt good but didn't feel energized enough. Maybe I was still frustrated I couldn't run the full marathon due to foot problems last month.
Mile1 6:05, Mile 2 6:21, Mile 3 6:43. After less than a mile the outside of my shin on my left leg started to ache as if I've over used the muscle and it is fatiging. I tried to run lighter and relax the muscle but it didn't help much. After about 3 miles of this it finally started dieing down.
Mile 4 5:49, Mile 5 6:13, Mile 6:6:28, I was running good but I still didn't feel the race enough.
Mile 7 6:10, Mile 8 6:09, Mile 9 6:13, Mile 10 6:33, Mile 11 6:22, Mile 12 6:35, Mile 13 6:15. (Avg mile pace 6:19) The raceing mental attitude finally kicked in at mile 7. From mile 7 on nobody passed me and I passed several runners. So I was pleased with the final effort but for some reason I felt like I didn't quite have as much energy as I thought I should. Maybe I'm just getting old or I didn't sleep or eat right etc..... Also, with about a mile left my left quad started trying to cramp up but it didn't lock up. It is a little sore now but not to bad.
As soon as I got done with the race Taunia snatched me away and we went to Tanners track meet and then to Dallas's soccer game. My stomach was uneasy for a few hours after the run but it got feeling better after a 1/2 hour nap.
Also, the finish was dumb. The 5 k walkers were taking 3/4th of the road at the gateway and they had a 1/4 of the road blocked of for the 1/2 marathoners. There were so many 5Kers that you couldn't even get around after the race and the last strectch didn't feel like a real finish. They should have started the 5K 1/2 hour earlier so they would be done for the half finish. Also, my watch miles were sooner than the mile signs. My miles on my watch kept getting a little more distance before the next mile sign would come up. Either the race was a little on the long side or Garmin 205 isn't working right. I ended up with 13.2 miles. So maybe I need to add a few seconds to every mile above.
Just found out I was 2 of 145 in age division missing 1st by 25 seconds and 20 of 1478 men I got chicked by one.
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