Very small , low key marathon in Michigan which was an easy drive from my parents house. This was so low key that within 25 minutes of the race start, there was no sign that a race was going to take place apart from about 15 cars in a small park outside of town. The race director and family showed up and things got moving.
I wanted a venue for a good training run and this was perfect. Having the clock and competition kept me motivated to push.
After I opened up a 10 yard lead after 100 yards, I realized I would likely be running alone if I could keep a nice pace. The race started with a 0.7 mile out and back so I got a good view of the field when I turned around. I had a safe lead by that point. The remainder of the course was a 2.8 mile loop around Sunday Lake to be completed 9 times. The 1st third was the hardest with a head wind and two rolling hills. I stayed steady and completed the lap over 20 minutes pretty consistently. The first 20 miles were right around 7:15/mile pace. I started to labor a little then and slowed to 7:25-7:45/mile the rest of the way. By the time I was 1 mile from the finish, I had lapped the entire field and ended up winning by nearly 30 minutes.
I was pleased with my time and the workout. I didn't blow it out and should be able to pick up with normal training next week. I do need to do some hard tempo runs to make sure I can get back under 3 hours at Chickmauga. | 