Notes
Broad Street Run - about 46 and pouring rain! Glad the weather was cooler but was definitely shaking/freezing at the start when the race was a few min delayed. Ran w/ tank top, shorts, arm warmers, and hat - and was definitely glad I had the arm warmers (had to turn them into gloves!). Really fun day/weekend to have a crew to do this with - Veronica, Alex, Jacy, and Grace also ran! Also got to see Kristen at the finish!
I ran without looking at my watch b/c of arm warmers covering, and I had success running off feel/being "blind" to paces at the NYC Half (unsure of fitness right now still so "fast" paces intimidate me when they shouldn't). However, I generally knew my paces/times due to the clock since we started basically on the line. It kinda ended up being a good thing since I knew I was generally averaging 6:30s, which was my pace at last weekend's 4 miler (lol) and Bronx 10 miler last year (though 1/2 of that was a MP tempo).
Once I got through 4 miles at that pace and felt comfortable, I decided to get to 5/6 conservatively and push it out. I had a really strong 7th mile and tried to build on that momentum but found myself a little unable to pick things up, and a little nervous that I was running beyond my limits and I was going to really regret it the last 2. Turns out, I was keeping things pretty steady, even at the end. I had hoped for a stronger last mile once I knew 65 was in reach, but kinda lost steam once I got into the end and separated out men/women (no women around me, but lots of guys I could have used next to me!)
Overall I was really positive mentally throughout the race, despite the end. My paces were generally consistent (some faster given terrain) and I felt like I was in control at the start and giving the best I could towards the end. I stayed competitive with the people around me, picked off girls, and after 5 miles, tried to go with any packs moving ahead. I really enjoy flat races where I can just key into a pace and cruise instead of working through varying terrain/efforts.
I'd love to do this race again! Great confidence booster ahead of Brooklyn and going into Chicago training this fall. My fitness seems to be coming back much faster than it did last year after only 3 months of running (after 3+ months completely off!) which is really encouraging. Not sure why, since my workouts have been minimal, but I'm going with it!
1) 6:21
2) 6:35
3) 6:28
4) 6:36
5) 6:27
6) 6:27
7) 6:24
8) 6:35
9) 6:31
10) 6:29