(me in white . placed 8th out of 110, 2nd in my division
The guy in red was 6th, 1st in my division 1:30:46)
As noted in an early post, I was looking forward to this run about as much as a colonoscopy performed by Barney Frank. I knew at best I might squeak out a PR; but due to the weather, there was no way to run my potential and my 1:30 goal.
The forecast held; at gun the temperature was 65 with 100% humidity and a 10 mile/hr south wind. The roads were quite slick from the fog. Damn the torpedoes, I went out at what I thought was a 1:30 pace.
I didn't wear my gps watch, but a runner next to me did. At mile two he said we were on a 6:50 min/mile pace (right at 1:30). It felt too fast aerobically. I relaxed my leg turnover, but tried to maintain the strength of my strides.
I could bitch about the weather, and there was plenty to bitch about. However, I was actually grateful it wasn't worse. The wind was fairly strong running into it. And the sky was completely overcast. Even a slight bit of sunshine would have doomed me.
I only looked at my own watch once, at the turnaround: 46:17. My second half split was about equal (46:40), which is a good indication that my endurance / strength was good.
Yes I PRed, but I was still quite unhappy. Not because I didn't hit 1:30, but because I couldn't set an true baseline. I just don't know if I can hold the 7:06 min/mile pace for a full if weather conditions are great (i.e. 43 with 40% humidity). I think I can, but without a baseline, I can't benefit from the confidence knowing I can.
The race did confirm one thing, I need to lose 3-5 pound. Three will work, 5 would be great. With only three weeks of training remaining (one of which is a taper), I'll have to double up on cross training to lose the three. If I want to make it five, I'll have to go low carb the last three weeks.
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