Notes
This went pretty well, just a little better than I thought I could do. I was fairly nervous going in because I felt like I hadn't done anything long enough to know how this would feel. I also think the stress of Cabrita not doing well, especially over the last few days, was contributing to some general anxiety.
I felt good warming up but was running pretty slowly to make sure I wasn't spending anything I wanted to use in the race itself. I started a little too fast, I think around 5:40 pace for the first minute or so, but even half a mile in I was still running 6 minute pace. Despite looking at my watch several times and trying to consciously relax, I ran the first mile much faster than the 6:20-30 I had planned. From there I was able to run right where I wanted, feeling not quite relaxed but definitely controlled. It's actually really satisfying looking back at those splits. I wasn't confident I could run 6:30s the whole race, but I thought I could do 8 or so and then if I slowed down a bit it wouldn't be the end of the world. Running alone in the woods thinking about only whether or not I could sustain the pace I was running was pretty hard and it's strange to think that this is a self-imposed stress/pressure that is now really satisfying to look back at. What a strange hobby/sport these races are.
Before the race Frank offered me a Maurten gel that I decided to carry with me in my shorts pocket so I could take it whenever felt right. I really wasn't sure what I would do at first but I waited until I felt like I was in a groove. Around 5 miles in I felt like I had found a groove but also felt really good and didn't want to interrupt that. 6 miles still felt early, but I figured that I should take it not much later than 7 miles in if I wanted to get much benefit from it. It was easier to eat than expected because it's almost chewy (halfway between toothpaste and a gummy bear somehow? Almost like chunky fruit jam) but I did cough a couple times which made me feel like my lower abs and hip flexors were going to cramp up completely, which was scary for a few seconds. Not much later I passed the exchange zone and turned down the water than Teddy and Mike were offering because I felt really good, to the point that I wanted to try to run 6:10s or faster. I'm glad I didn't try that.
About half a mile into leg 9, I started feeling worse and remembered that I was going to have some gentle climbing before descending and finishing on a flat section. I saw my pace slipping into the 6:30s and then really struggled to keep it in the 6:40s until I finished the (extremely) gentle climb. After that I was able to rally and get back to where I wanted and then finish pretty hard. My legs didn't feel bad in the way that they do at the end of a fast mile or 5K, more like it was just a huge struggle to keep them moving at all. The finish came up a little sooner than I expected and I was able to pick it up the last minute or so.
Finishing was, as expected, a huge relief and I took a minute or two to sit on a stone bench near the parking lot to untie my shoes and just get my breath back. The last few miles my face felt tingly and almost numb, like it would after 4-5 drinks. I don't think I had done anything nearly this hard in almost a year, if not since doing this race last year. Magnolia last summer was probably close but still a much shorter period of redlining/uncertainty of whether I could continue.
One weird thing I was doing in this was breathing really hard and almost puffing out my cheeks at times. Somehow it felt like I was engaging my core/diaphragm better by breathing that way and it made me feel more stable/solid while running. I don't think I have ever done or felt that before.
It's really cool to have exceeded my expectations a little and somehow at the same time I wish I had done better. I'm not sure I could have, so I think this feeling is more like an inspiration to keep getting better to be faster for future races. Reach the Beach in a few weeks will be another fun test, and then I have all fall to run cross country. I want to keep doing some good workouts this summer and I think I'm on a really good trajectory considering I am coming off a winter of minimal running.
Leg 8: 49:45 (nominally 7.7 miles vs Garmin's 7.79)
Leg 9: 23:48 (nominally 3.6 miles vs Garmin's 3.68)