I went into this race with a lofty goal, thinking that I may finally go under 37 min, but the course was a lot more difficult than I remembered. The last time that I ran this race, I was 20 pounds heavier, and just barely ran a sub 8:00 pace. I was excited that the race officials considered me "Elite", because I was predicting a 6:00 pace finish. They let me start up front. Saw Bill B. and Patrick P. right at the start. I started out a little conservatively, but wearing my Adios for the first time in almost 6 months really made my stride feel light and fast. Ran the first mile in 5:32, and the second in 6:18. I may have backed off a little too much on the second mile, then the big hills started. Miles 3 and 4 were 6:32 and 6:28. I watched Bill progressively get farther ahead during these two miles, emphasizing that I need more training on hills. Once I got into the flow of the downhill miles though, I was able to pick it back up to a nice steady 5:30 pace, until the very last hill. At the 5mi marker I thought I might hit my goal, but forgot that there was still one hill left. The last .6mi, I started my surge, some tried to go with me, but they didn't last long. I saw that I was gaining on Bill, so I gave it almost everything I had, running a 5:05 pace for the last split of the race. Finished in 37:29, which I believe, is the fastest one I've run since 1999. Woooo!
I still need to race a few more of these, as I can't figure out how to pace myself.
It was nice to see you all there, and those that I didn't get to see, I hope we can find a better meeting spot next time.
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