Notes
Canal Connection 2010
November 7, 2010
55 Degrees
Wind SW 10-15
In the days preceding this race I developed a bit of a cold. Sarah and Taelynn were sick for part of the week prior to the race. As for me I got sick on Friday and was down for most of the day on Saturday in hopes that by Sunday I would have the energy to push pretty hard for the race. My training for the race had been pretty solid with some strong tempo runs well in the 5.30’s and a good track workout the Wednesday before the race. I knew I was ready it was just trying to figure out how much the sickness was going to affect me on race day. I was hoping for a sub-35 but I was realistic with being sick to put me in the 35-36 minute range.
When I got to the Peru school it was pretty well packed with people. I got a solid warm-up in and was ready to go line up. I decided to strip down to just shorts and shoes which was a pretty good idea. The race started and for my first mile I was hoping to be just under 5.20, Tom was running with me and we had a couple other guys around to help block the south winds. The first mile went by quick with not much jostling around after the first ¼ mile. We went down the bridge and I could see the first mile split, it looked like the leaders were right on 5 flat while I was going to be right in my 5.20 range.
5.19
After the first mile I decided to try and hold pace, I could tell Tom was not up for sticking with me so I pushed forward to a pack of 3 people. We ran together through the 2 mile.
5.33 (10.52)
I was really happy with the second mile, I was hoping to be in the 5.40’s from that point on but, once again, I questioned what the sickness was going to hold for a surprise. I felt like I was maintaining pace but during mile 3 I got passed by 3 people who passed us and just kept moving forward. I let them go and tried to remain focused. The 3rd mile split was approaching and I was hoping to still be in the 5.40’s
5.49 (16.42)
Good 3 mile time, but I still had 3.2 to go. Sub-35 could be in my sites if I could hold but I didn’t figure my body was going to be able to push too many 5.40 miles. At this point all I wanted to do was start focusing in on the last 2 miles as most of my training focused in on the finish of runs. So mile 4 was my slowest mile but I was ok with the time.
5.56 (22.38)
I knew if I wanted to do anything impressive now was the time to stop running positive splits and start turning things back around. I was in 9th place at this point and the closest 2 people were ~100 meters ahead so I figured it was time to go catch them. They ran a positive split for mile 5 while I ran a negative.
5.52 (28.31)
I was feeling pretty happy about this one and I was only 25 meters behind the 2 guys so it was time to go…. 1.2 miles left. I thought about sticking with them and trying to burn them in the end but they kept slowing down while I was seemingly picking it up, so I passed them. I turned off the canal and I was starting to push. This mile felt faster than what it was but it must have been enough to keep the 2 guys off of me
5.52 (34.23)
I pushed into the finish line uncontested and finished right where I predicted:
1.09 (35.34)
Sarah, Tatum and Taelynn were there to meet me at the finish line. Sarah brought the double stroller so the girls and I went out for a 2 mile cool-down to finish the day off. I ended up 7th overall and 1st in my age group. I was happy with the race. Afterwards the girls and I watched the Veterans Day parade downtown Utica.
In the aftermath of this race, the 48 hours following it turned into some of the worst hours I have experienced for quite some time. I think the combination of being sick and racing hard put some major stress on my body and gave me some excruciating stomach pains. I am putting this into this race report not to have you feel sorry for me but to act as a reminder to myself to be a little more cautious when entering a race when I already feel sick.