Bacon Strip 10-mile race today, which also served as a Big Workout. Last year I ran 54:31, so the primary goal was to beat that. Mike came out to run it too, so at least there would be some competition.
Nice temperature, upper 40s, but was a bit windy...a 15-20mph wind out of the NW, meaning we would have strong headwind from start to Mile 4, tailwind from 4-9, and then headwind into the finish. If I had to pick a wind direction, it's about the way I'd want it, as it makes the 2nd half of the race easier. Even though the last mile is into the wind, at least the last mile is virtually all downhill.
The Bacon Strip is a 10-mile loop on the dirt county roads northeast of Fort Collins. It's a well-known training course of the locals, and known especially for its non-stop, challenging hills. The first 4 miles are rolling hills with a net uphill, and the remainder is rolling hills with a net downhill. Most of the downhill is in the last mile though.
The race started, and Mike and I agreed to trade off leading on the first 4 miles, when we were going into the headwind. Mike took Miles 1 and 3, and I took 2 and 4. Neither of us are very good wind blocks though. Still, it was good to have someone to work with on these tougher miles. Miles 1-4 were 5:39 (long mile), 5:47, 5:38, and 5:44. The wind and the hills were a bear, but I felt pretty good.
We turned the corner and headed east for the next mile, now with a tailwind. Pace felt like we were jogging, and we were able to recover a bit. Mile 5 was 5:39.
Turned the corner and were now heading south for the next 4 miles, still with a net tailwind. Now it was time to really get rolling. These next 4 miles felt really good. I dropped Mike at about Mile 8. Splits for 6-9 were 5:17, 5:08, 5:11, and 5:08. Pace felt like a nice fast tempo, very sustainable.
Turned the last corner and headed west for the last mile to the finish. This was a downhill mile, but the headwind was very strong. I was thankful for the downhill, otherwise it would have been brutal, and my legs went from feeling very good to being pretty tired. It's amazing what wind can do. Last "mile" was 4:38, but was a bit short. I was just measuring mile markers from the county road intersections, but the first mile starts behind the intersection, so is "long", and thus the last mile increment is a bit short. This is a $10 race, so there are no mile markers, but they are not really needed if you are familiar with the course. Even with being short, the last mile was probably would have been sub-4:50, based on how close the finish line was to the intersection. So I can live with that.
Ended up about 25 seconds ahead of Mike, and we both beat my time from last year. I was 53:52, and was pretty happy to get under 54:00 on that course. It was a nice confidence-builder. Now just have two weeks of peak marathon training, and then the taper.
| 