Week 8 - Long run (a race)
This week, I skipped the typical solo "long run" and signed up for the Shamrock 15K, a race put on by the Summit Athletic Running Club. This is the first time I've done this distance in a race, so I was guaranteed a PR (always nice). The weather conditions could not have been much better (with the exception of the light rain), as it was 60 degrees, a very rare thing in these parts this time of year.
The flyer for the course said it was "very challenging" and after looking at the elevation chart they had posted, I could see why. It looked like a stretched out letter U, as we were running down into the Cuyahoga River Valley and back out. So needless to say, the "going down" part was pretty easy, it was the "coming back up" part that was a challenge.
Things were going good (I was keeping under an 8 min mile pace) until mile 5 or so. I hit the 5K mark at just under 24 minutes, which I was happy with. But during mile 5, we rounded a corner and there was about a 1/4 mile stretch that was seriously about a 60 degree incline. You could hear people just gasp when it came into sight. I just had to put my head down, lean forward, and take it on. I made it to the top without walking (though my run wasn't much faster than a walking pace), and this pushed me out of the 8:00/mi pace, to which I would not return.
There were more inclines after that, but nothing close to the difficulty of that one. I crossed the 10K mark at 50:50, a best for me (I hope to break under 50 minutes next time I race a 10K). During the last mile, my kick came on strong as usual, and I passed 6 or 7 people on my way to the finish line. Which of course, left my wondering as usual, with such a strong kick, am I holding back too much during the race?
I ended up finishing in 1:16:02, an 8:10/mi pace. Not too bad, though I had hoped to slip under an 8:00/mi pace. That put me in 9th out of 16 in my age group, and 104th overall, out of 233. It was an enjoyable run, and nice to get back to a little race experience. I think my next race will be a half-marathon in Columbus, OH in about 3 weeks.
Weekly Total: 20.8 miles
Yearly Total: 149.8 miles
The flyer for the course said it was "very challenging" and after looking at the elevation chart they had posted, I could see why. It looked like a stretched out letter U, as we were running down into the Cuyahoga River Valley and back out. So needless to say, the "going down" part was pretty easy, it was the "coming back up" part that was a challenge.
Things were going good (I was keeping under an 8 min mile pace) until mile 5 or so. I hit the 5K mark at just under 24 minutes, which I was happy with. But during mile 5, we rounded a corner and there was about a 1/4 mile stretch that was seriously about a 60 degree incline. You could hear people just gasp when it came into sight. I just had to put my head down, lean forward, and take it on. I made it to the top without walking (though my run wasn't much faster than a walking pace), and this pushed me out of the 8:00/mi pace, to which I would not return.
There were more inclines after that, but nothing close to the difficulty of that one. I crossed the 10K mark at 50:50, a best for me (I hope to break under 50 minutes next time I race a 10K). During the last mile, my kick came on strong as usual, and I passed 6 or 7 people on my way to the finish line. Which of course, left my wondering as usual, with such a strong kick, am I holding back too much during the race?
I ended up finishing in 1:16:02, an 8:10/mi pace. Not too bad, though I had hoped to slip under an 8:00/mi pace. That put me in 9th out of 16 in my age group, and 104th overall, out of 233. It was an enjoyable run, and nice to get back to a little race experience. I think my next race will be a half-marathon in Columbus, OH in about 3 weeks.
Weekly Total: 20.8 miles
Yearly Total: 149.8 miles
posted by Brad at 4:57 PM
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