TT: 1:48:11
AP: 8:14
8:27, 8:21, 8:17, 8:14, 8:23, 8:29, 8:35, 7:48, 8:00, 8:08, 7:53, 7:50, 1:08
I haven't been very excited about this race. My training has been geared more toward trails. I've also been doing less mileage/more cross training in hopes of keeping injuries at bay. So I had NO goals or expectations for the race (therefore no stress!!).
The gun went off and I fell behind the 1:55 pacers (Jerry and Marci). I felt like I was breathing way too hard so early in the race. But I kept plugging along, hoping I could just hang on for awhile and not blow up.
I started to feel a lot better after a few miles and my breathing mellowed out. I was able to attack the big hill from mile 6-7. I could tell all the trail elevation was paying off. As I was running the hill, I noticed a young man staying on my tail. He was breathing really hard and making a big effort to keep up with me. When we got to the top of the hill, I gave him a hi-5 and he had a very startled look on his face!!
I gained a lot of confidence from powering up that hill and really started to pick up speed. My new buddy took off during the downhill, but quickly turned around and slowed down to run with me. Miles 7-10 were great and I felt very strong and was able to pick up speed. I passed the 1:50 pacer and asked him how close he was to his time....he had banked 30 seconds. I felt like I could go faster and picked up speed some more and didn't want to get passed by the 1:50 group.
At mile 11, I saw my good friend Britney and her kids! It was such a moral booster to see them! I also saw my buddy Kellie on the U turn and was surprised she wasn't further ahead. I felt like I had one more gear to push it to the finish. With Kellie's white jacket in the horizon, I tried to kick it the last 2 miles (along with my teenager buddy).
I never caught Kellie (she was kicking it too), but she was a great "carrot". At mile 12, my teenager buddy started to breath really heavy and I told him to just hang on for one more mile (we hadn't been talking at all). It was a great finish and came in right behind Rachel (which is always a treat!!!). My teenager buddy kept shaking my hand and was really excited about his race....good for you!
I was REALLY surprised with my time. Last year, I had such great training (more miles...faster miles) and I ran a 1:46. So on lower, slower miles...I was only 2 minutes slower. Maybe that isn't a great comparison, but it gave me hope. Maybe I'm not as in bad of shape as I thought I was.
It was a great race with great weather and a great way to start off the 2015 season!
(I'm really going to be sore tomorrow!!)
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