Notes
Drove down and raced with Speedboat. Yet another steamy and hot night in Newburyport for this one. Wanted to set my pace just under 7:00 for the first half and see how it went (when the rolling hills kick in). Was still on the fence about how I was going to handle this race (LT training run or race it hard). Well, should have know that answer, the gun shot out and the race was on, no half-assed effort for me.
Right from about mile 2 on, I knew this was going to be a grind as my legs were already heavy and I was dog-bone tired. I remember at mile three wondering where the hell the other 7 were coming from. So I settled in to trying to find a pace I could hold and never found it. Grabbed a few runners to chase and tried to keep Greg in my sights. I have to say, the best decision I made was to wear the WC singlet as there were members on the course handing out ice sponges (oh how nice that was). Turned the corner toward the homestretch and could see Greg. Here was my chance - NOT. My legs gave me a nice FU. The last 2 miles were literal hell - I gave it all I had to reign in a few runners and finish strong. THANKS BOB for being near the finish and giving me some encouragement to get up that last hill to the finish (new finish this year).
All in all, I am happy with how I responded here and can't be too disappointed with my time as it was a PR in nasty conditions. Great company (even though we were both exhausted after this one) and always good to race! But, I would have liked to give speedboat a bit more competition. At least I didn't get my ass smacked. Gonna pay for this one for sure - back to the plan.
Official time:
1:12:58 / 7:18 pace
13/65 age group
133/978 overall
Training Plan Entry
Race
12 mi
Yankee Homecoming (1up, race, 1down)
- supposed to be LT: 8 (4@10K pace)