When: September 25, 2011
Where: Smithville Lake, Smithville, MO
Why: Why not :)
How: 1 foot in front of the other
Motto: "Don't cry like a bitch when you feel the pain" taken from a Sick Puppies song.
Finish Time: 45:05
AG: 1/??? at least 4 :)
OA: 5/??
Now that the summary is done, on to race weekend.
The weekend prior to the race:
Last weekend I ran a crappy 4 mile race by not having a strategy and going out too fast the first couple of miles.I was hoping to finish sub 29:xx, but finished with a pace of 7:20. I vowed to race smarter during my races this weekend.
Race Weekend:
I ran the KC 15K on Saturday and forced myself to take it easy. Granted, I still ran faster than wanted, but was able to talk in complete sentences the whole time. I ended up pacing a gal from mile 4 until the finish and was able to get her to reach her goal of 1:20ish. I finished the 15K in 1:20:01 for an avg. pace of 8:36/mile. My legs felt fresh after the race and I was feeling good!
Race Morning:
My legs were feeling a bit tired this morning. I was worried that I had ran a bit too hard during the 15K on Saturday, but I decided I was still going to try and beat my time from last year and defend my AG win.
My strategy for this race was to try to average a 7:30 pace during the first 3 miles and then pick it up from there. I also wanted to keep an AG rival in sight so I had a chance to overtake him in the later part of the race.
With about 20 minutes to go I start the walk up the hill to the starting line.
Thankfully, the last part of the race finished running down the hill. :)
I get to the top of the hill and wind seems to calm down a bit. It's a crisp, sunny 50F morning. Perfect conditions for a race.
Since the only timing mat was at the finish, I decided to line up close to the front. I saw my AG rival and he became my first "rabbit". There was no big start, just some guy comes jogging up to the front, crouches down on the side, counts down and blasts an air horn.
Mile 1:
I vowed not to go out too fast the first mile and decided that I wanted to keep it between 7:00 and 7:30. When my rabbit started to pick up the pace it was tough to let him go, but I wanted to run my race. The mile started downhill so it was tempting to go with him and by the end of the mile he was probably about 300 yards ahead of me. I stuck with my strategy and finished the first mile in 7:15.
Mile 2:
This mile starts downhill, but finishes uphill with probably no net elevation change. I wanted to try and maintain my pace, but my tired legs had other plans. I did manage to keep the rabbit in sight and only slowed a little finishing this mile in 7:20.
Mile 3:
This mile is basically all uphill. At this point I see a few women and made it my next goal to pass them. My AG rival was extending his lead and my pace was slowing during this mile so I felt I needed to put an intermediate goal in place to help keep me in line. The ladies were about 100 yards ahead and keeping pace. I had to push myself a little to close the gap. One of the women separated from the pack and started pulling away. She quickly became my new rabbit. I finished the mile in 7:33.
Mile 4:
This mile is also basically all uphill. I was closing the gap on my new rabbit and when we made a turn I heard the volunteer tell her she was the first female. I let her pull me along until the next aid station. My mouth was a bit dry so I decided to take water and walk so I get drink it all. Thankfully the short stretch after the aid station was a gentle incline and it was easy to restart running. I closed the gap and passed the rabbit during this section. My AG rival was a ways up, but still within sight so I re-focused my attention on him. Since this mile included the steepest hill and the aid station it's no wonder it was my slowest mile. I finished it in 8:00.
The first female just before I passed by. This was also the only pic I took during the race. The little dot going up the hill is my AG rival.
Mile 5:
This mile has some rolling hills, but is net downhill overall. I figured it was time to make my move and start gaining ground on the rival. I start thinking of my race motto taken from a Sick Puppies song, "don't cry like a bitch when you feel the pain," and started pushing my pace. It wasn't until I saw my avg. pace dropping that I thought I might just have a chance to set a new PR. I keep slowly gaining ground and decide to make my pass during the next mile. Mile 5 passed in 7:14.
Mile 6:
By this point my breathing is getting rough, but my legs still feel good. Seeing my rival getting closer and my avg. pace drop keeps me motivated to keep running, even though my lungs are telling me to walk. I finally pass the rabbit about halfway through the mile and am worried I might be making the move too soon. To help keep me increasing my pace, I set my sights on passing the next two guys ahead. Honestly, I think that fear of being passed by my rival was the biggest motivator for my increased pace during this mile. I ended up passing one of the two guys during this mile and finished it in 6:34.
Last Stretch:
This was completely downhill but I couldn't increase my pace much at all. I could hear the guy I just passed gaining a bit of ground so I focused on the finish line and tried to increase my pace. Although it didn't feel like I was getting faster, I was actually gaining ground on the next guy. I passed him and tried to catch the next guy who was about 50 feet ahead. I did make up some distance, but didn't have enough left to catch him. I crossed the line in 45:05 and am extremely happy!
With my legs feeling tired at the start, I really did not expect to set a new PR this race. Not only that, but I finished with a faster avg. pace than I had during the 4 mile race last weekend. Could I have done better without running the 15K yesterday, of course! Would I do anything differently, NO! It was a great weekend of races and I had a blast! I couldn't have asked for anything more.
If you managed to read to the end, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!
Eric
