Weather=70 degrees, 76% humidity, 62 dew point, 8 mph wind, cloudy. Average pace=7:38
mile 1- 7:14
mile 2- 7:25
mile 3- 7:40
mile 4- 7:47
mile 5- 7:43
mile 6- 7:41
mile 7- 7:33
mile 8- 8:03
mile 9- 7:51
final .3 pace- 7:07
So I tried something new today and I think it back fired. I didn't take any gu at all. I also didn't have any water until mile 8. As a result, I now have a new found appreciation for gu. I do better with it. It was really humid today and it felt hard to breathe. I kept thinking my sports bra was too tight and I couldn't breathe but I think it might have been the humidity.
I can't believe I won. I don't feel like I deserved it. There was one girl who was on my heels the whole race. She tried to surge past me in mile 2 but I surged back and wouldn't let her pass. Then she started closing in at the half and I tried to speed up. Mile 7 was pretty good, but then I bonked. I think it was the lack of gu. I am too used to it. I actually stopped to drink water at mile 8 which is why that mile didn't look too good. I figured the girl was going to pass me but she never did. With .3 mile left I had to go up a short steep hill and the girl was right there about maybe 30 yards behind me. I mustered everything I had to do the 7:07 pace at the end. She evidently did not match my speed because I think I finished maybe 50 yards ahead.
I am getting really tired of not performing these races like I think I should. I need to do speedwork and tempos. I was running so much faster in the spring and I'm sure all the mile repeat workouts I did made all the difference.
Tim won 1st place overall. He ran a 6:42/m. He wanted 6:30/m. Everyone was complaining about the humidity at the end. I was 8th overall, 1st place female. It really wasn't that competitive of a race but it still feels pretty good to win! I also was #1 overall female for the 1st race of this series. If I stay on top for the next two races (half marathon and a 20 mile race), then I win a new pair of shoes and a jacket I think.
Tim and the other "fast" guys who finished ahead of me were making fun of my shoes afterwards... they called them concrete blocks. Maybe I should get some lighter weight shoes for races.
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