Notes
Arriving near the start, I couldn't imagine taking off the layers I knew I should, but after a little warm-up, I finally managed. I was REALLY lucky to have Michelle there to take them for me!! First mile was 7:17 and felt good. Awesome! Maybe I did hang on to the gains I made late last year. Second mile was 7:30 on the same effort. Uh-oh. I ran very even 7:30ish miles for a while, but each time I was actually trying to pick it up a little to get down close to 7:20, my goal pace. And each time, the greater effort only yielded a 7:30. By mile 6, I was working like I should have been at mile 10. Pace was falling off by mile 9 and (I'm not proud of this part) I basically gave up at mile 11 when I knew I wouldn't NYQ, PR, or even break 1:40. I could rationalize and say I didn't want to beat myself up for no reason, but really I just didn't want to run hard anymore. I ended up with a 1:42. I actually did end up coming in second in my AG though, about a minute off first. D'oh! I got what I deserved though (well, more, really, but yeah...). The awards (canvas) and medals (wooden) were handpainted by members of the community that the race benefits, L'Arche Mobile, which provides homes for mentally handicapped people. I thought they were wonderful. And I need to remember that 1:42 is still a really good time, and how hard I had to work to go under 1:50 and 1:45.
Splits: 7:17, 7:31, 7:27, 7:31, 7:26, 7:28, 7:43, 7:46, 8:01, 7:54, 8:04, 8:25, 8:33, 0:49