I was floored! This is actually one of my few firsts... I don't see many, being at work all day. I know Andi is going to be jealous. I had to just check to see if it wasn't just a fluke, and so later in the day... sure enough:
You will also notice Megan again practicing her Ninja skills in the above picture. She had the colors off a little bit this time, attempting to blend into the couch for maximum sneakage.
Anyway... the race. Or as I like to call it, "The shittiest day to run 6.2 miles outside, EVER." It was raining, it was cold, it more or less sucked. Oddly enough, it was still fun. The first mile was cake, I was feeling good, passing people left and right. Almost running people over at times. I was quickly caught up in the "keep up with the pack" mentality.
Mile 2, I more or less knew I was running too fast. I could feel that, although I was okay now, it wasn't going to last. At that point, I sort of had to make a decision. Slow down to a pace I could keep going with or just go all out and see what happens? I choose to just keep going at the fast pace I was.
By mile 3.. the rain & cold were starting to catch up to me. I couldn't see anything. My glasses were completely drenched and fogged up. My t-shirt felt like it weighed 5 pounds. I was slowing down big time. People were passing me all over. The whole second half of the race was a non stop pass fest, only this time I wasn't doing any passing. I tried not to let it get to me. I focused on the fact that I had just trained 8 weeks, running 80 miles in preparation for this. I was going to get my goal of under an hour no matter what.
I remember someone calling out a time of 44 minutes as I passed a mile marker. At the time, my first thought was "44 mins... 4 miles... 11 min miles, crap". I now realize, I heard that called out at mile 5 NOT, mile 4. What's funny to me, is that after having the "oh shit 11 min miles" thought, my next immediate thought was "Okay, sweet 16 mins to finish 1.2 miles. I can do that." Strange how the mind works.
The last mile was easier then the first 5. At that point, all I could think about was the finish line. I had planned to sprint part of the ending, and I felt I still had enough energy to try. As I crossed the last bridge to the finish, where I wanted to sprint, I couldn't. I had to wait... after the bridge, up one last incline, and then I sprinted. For probably 500 feet? Maybe 20-30 seconds worth. At that point I was totally spent. I grinded to a slow crawl, but still running. I crossed the finish line and was immediately stuck in a sea of people. Not the best place to be when you want nothing more then a little space. I got towards the edge of people and tried to catch my breath. I was dizzy... I had to grab a railing to catch myself. I thought about jumping the railing to get away from the crowd, but stumbled through them.
Final time: 53:28. Average pace: 8:37.
I'm happy with the results. Will I do another one? Maybe, if for no other reason to be able to actually enjoy a decent event in better weather. And before you ask me, no, I have NO plans to start training for a marathon.
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