A few things happended today to set up a personal course record. First I got a good night sleep the past two nights. This morning I felt well rested. Second, the weather was nearly ideal. When we pulled up and parked the car the temperature was 60 degrees and calm! Finally, I felt great this morning. I had no heel pain, no achilles tightness, again I attribute this to better sleep.
The other set up for a decent run was my plan to go out conservatively. I got NO warmup. We got there about 20 minutes early, walked slowly to the start with the boys, hit the restrooms and got in line for the race. I worked my way up toward the starting line but still had about three rows ahead of me. The younger kids always go out too fast. They started the race and I found an opening that I could settle into. I was being passed up until the mile mark that I hit in 5:55! I tried to maintain an even effot over the second mile which is uphill in the second half. I don't remember anyone passing me after the 1 mile mark. My mile split was 6:08! There is a downhill mile finish which I pushed and split in 5:43! I finished in 18:17 (avg pace 5:53) good enough for 26th place and 2nd in my age group (M30-34).
It was a personal course record by 3 seconds! Two years ago when I ran 18:20 my splits were 5:25, 5:55, 6:04. The difference was two years ago I faded at the end and was slowing. This year I maintained a more even pace and finished strong picking it up the last .1 miles.
This tells me I didn't loose as much fitness as I thought I did since the LD50. The reason my workouts have not been great is due to lack of sleep and general fatigue. I think on the right course and the right day I could break 18 minutes in a few months.
Other finishers included Zach Patten in 17:30s, Clay Patten in 20:20s, Andi in 21:40s, and my brother in law John Fitch in 31:25!
Check back soon for pictures of the finishers!
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3 comments:
Congratulations to Andi & you! I am very pleased to hear that you felt great. Sounds like you ran a very smart race. It is always nice to finish strong! With 7 months to go before Surf City, your leg speed is very close to where it needs to be for a 2:55 marathon.
Andi should be very pleased with her fitness for the Strawberry Fields Triathlon in two weeks. Way to go Andi!
Way to go Karl! I am so happy for you. Wish I could have been there. Mom
Oops! Good job, Andi and Jon, too. I could have run with Jon. Maybe next time! J.
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