Race morning started off well. I woke up early and had my normal oatmeal, coffee, and water. And there was no traffic. Though, I ended up taking a detour throughout New Bedford because the google directions sucked, but I had given myself plenty of time - so no worries there. After finding a prime parking spot I was able to get in a meeting with Albert at the secret conference room, and then off to get in a ~2 mile warm up.
My only regret prior to the race was not doing a full set of drills and strides. I probably had enough time, but once I made my way to the starting line the front was already packed. This will be something I need to figure out for April 21st. My legs always feel sharper after a good warm up, but if I'm forced to stand around/walk for 15 minutes after the warmup that kind of defeats the purpose.
Once the gun went off, I realized I was way too far back in the crowd. Per usual, there was a shitload of runners who were running 12 minute miles who apparently couldn't see they were in the 6/7 minute section...This was actually really frustrating for the first few miles, because I would've loved to try running with Terry, and trying to compete with him - but I was never able to even see him during the race.
The first mile felt really slow, and my legs felt like lead. I was running briefly with Dima, and I ended up seeing Tom briefly - but he was closer to the curb as I was on the outside. The second, third and fourth miles were even slower, and I was a little bit worried that this would be a real shit race. The two moderate hills and head winds accounted for some of the slowing, but I really felt out of rhythm. And the niggling pain I've had in my left calf/achilles the past few days was causing a little bit of worry.
Miles 5 through 8 I was able to quicken the pace, but it felt really forced. At no point did I feel like, "ok, here we go, feeling good, let's hold this and maybe pick it up." Instead I was taking constant inventory of whether or not the pace would result in a crash.
Miles 9-11 were a pretty decent slowdown thanks to what I considered a pretty brutal headwind. I always feel like I'm a freaking sail when it's windy, I don't know what it is, but I certainly struggle. The one good thing I noticed as the race moved into the later stages is that I wasn't being passed, and I was beginning to pick off some runners that were hurting a bit.
The last ~2.1 miles was really tough. The course finishes with a generally uphill-tone. It's about a 275 foot elevation gain over those miles, and aerobically taxing at a challenging time. And if anyone that was racing with me at this point during the race - I apologize. I was huffing and puffing, and I was not being quiet about it. My legs were still so freaking stiff, and my body was just hurting in general.
But as I was dipping my toes into the well of pain, I felt the need to hurt. "Embrace it!," said the inner beast. As I pulled up alongside a runner looking steady at this late stage, he commented about the cruel location of one of the final hills we were about to crest. "Fuck that hill," I responded....it sounds abrupt now, but that's just the way I felt!
Turning towards the finish line, I still had enough to kick out a ~32 second 200 to the finish and pass a few runners...it doesn't mean a whole lot, but kicking to the finish gives me great satisfaction.
Officially 1:21:04. A new PR by 8 minutes and 25 seconds. And I consider it a solid time run in tough conditions. It's not a soft PR, but on a slightly warmer day with the legs not feeling so heavy, I think I can lower it fairly significantly.
Splits:
Split
|
Time
|
Distance
|
Avg Pace
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | 1:21:07.4 | 13.14 | 6:10 |
| 1 | 6:11.4 | 1.00 | 6:11 |
| 2 | 6:18.3 | 1.00 | 6:18 |
| 3 | 6:18.1 | 1.00 | 6:18 |
| 4 | 6:23.1 | 1.00 | 6:23 |
| 5 | 6:00.8 | 1.00 | 6:01 |
| 6 | 6:01.0 | 1.00 | 6:01 |
| 7 | 5:57.9 | 1.00 | 5:58 |
| 8 | 5:59.8 | 1.00 | 6:00 |
| 9 | 6:13.9 | 1.00 | 6:14 |
| 10 | 6:25.2 | 1.00 | 6:25 |
| 11 | 6:26.0 | 1.00 | 6:26 |
| 12 | 6:11.3 | 1.00 | 6:11 |
| 13 | 6:03.7 | 1.00 | 6:04 |
| 14 | :36.9 | 0.14 | 4:18 |
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