Well..today was my final tune up ahead of Boston. This will be a short report as I am super busy.
Didn't really have any good reason to think today was going to be a good race. THe workouts just haven't felt very good and in general I haven't performed all that well.
The weather was showery and low 40s. So a touch chilly but no wind. In other words, great conditions.
As I suspected I had absolutely NO ONE to run with. Won by something like five minutes. But winning was of no importance. It was all about time.
The first 3.5 miles are a net uphill with a few steady climbs. Miles 5-8 are pancake flat. Then Mile 9 has a short but significant uphill stretch. The last three miles are mostly a gentle downhill.
The goal going in was to run 5:15s.
Mile 1 - 5:12
Mile 2 - 5:14
Mile 3 - 5:27 -- Hardest of the first three miles. Kind of expected this one to be slow but mentally prepared for it to be in my favor on the way back.
Mile 4 - 5:08 -- Short but steep downhill stretch. Expected this one to be fast. Basically right on 5:15 pace.
Miles 5 and 6 - 5:16s -- pancake flat. Battling some mental fatigue at this point. Really wishing I had someone to run with. But hanging on.
Mile 7 - 5:17 -- Still steady although wanted to see this be a 5:15.
Mile 8 - 5:22 -- Not sure what happened here except I am a bit bored out of my mind. Hard to focus.
Mile 9 - 5:26 -- This was going to be the slowest mile because it included the steep uphill mile.
Mile 10 - 5:15 -- Very happy. The hill mile didn't throw me over the edge. Back to running on pace.
Mile 11 - 5:09 -- Thrilled. Using the downhill to my advantage. Still have something left in the tank and feeling pretty good about a shot at sub 1:05 which would be a course record and course PR.
Mile 12 - 5:09 --Feeling great at this point but knowing I have to really let it out to go sub 65.
Final .42 -- 1:41 -- Was able to really hammer out the last 300 meters or so. It's a track finish which I think helps. With 100m to go I could see the official clock and knew sub-65 was possible.
Final time was 1:04:57 (5:13 pace). Huge success today and it has me much more excited about Boston than I have been lately. | 