TL;DR;

1:27:29, NYCM Qualifier, 22nd of 1203 runners.

Long version

I got there early. Had to park 2.5 miles away, there was a free shuttle, had to get my bib, needed to check in a bag, and wanted time to go to the bathroom. Met a guy I know in the shuttle, so hung around him until the start. We had plenty of time to chat as the check in, bag check and all was done in a matter of 5 minutes or so.

Took a gel 45 minutes before the start, and another one 5 minutes before the start. None during the race.

The weather was rather cool (for a May 21st), little wind… great conditions to perform. I knew a sub-1:28 would qualify me for NYCM, and I was going to try it. Just because. I would not have risked breaking down to get it, though. I wanted to secure a sub-1:30.

I lined up pretty close to the front. I feel more and more at ease there, since that is where I’m supposed to be. About 1/8 of a mile after the start, I had plenty of room to run and do my thing.

The course was wide, well marked, had lots of volunteers to keep us on course, and was FLAT. That is the big plus of the race. I was aiming for 6:39 to 6:46 splits, and hopfully average in the middle to secure a sub-1:28. First half of the race was pretty eventless, which is good in a race. Saw many people I know on the sides yelling my name and encouragements. I like local races for that.

About 2/3 through, I started to feel the effort. Good, I thought. This is normal. Starting here, I’ll need guts.

Not long after that, I felt followed. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough a girl was behind me. Very close behind. After a couple of minutes, she was still there, and I thought she was probably using me to block the wind. I remember thinking it sucks that it could never happen to me. But if she wants to benefit from the fact that I’m tall, and since we’re running at the same pace, why not?

My km splits were pretty much all 4:07-4:10 (6:38-6:42mpm) at that point, with the occasional split a little slower. I was thinking that on average, I must probably be on 1:28 pace. The girl is still there, still ultra close. Very weird. She’s not noisy. She doesn’t bug me at all. I’m even starting to be glad I can serve as a windshield for her. She’ll probably pass me sooner or later and then I’ll see if she can handle the pace on her own.

At some point, she talks to me. Something like "it’s pretty cool running behind you". I answered something, then she said  what?, I turned my head, repeated it, and had to repeat it again. A couple of minutes later she says that she’ll be ultra-happy if she can go sub-1:28. Again, I answer something, I have to repeat… not effective. I don’t really have any breath to spare for this game, so I’m not going to answer anymore. A little later she says that she’s going to pay me a great bottle of wine when we’re done if I take her in a sub-1:28. Then she says, well not THAT expensive. By then I’m not answering, but she makes me smile. Of course she can’t see me and doesn’t know that.

With about 2.5 miles to go, I decide to give it a little more juice. Start emptying the tank. There’s a risk, but i was feeling good, and the girl was boosting my spirits. Bad idea. After maybe 1 mile of this, I wave her to go in front of me and tell her I don’t want to ruin her race. I’m beat. She passes me, and I slow down a bit. To something like 7:00mpm. Not for long. 5-10 seconds, then I slowly start increasing pace again to about 6:46mpm. I hold it there for a while and start feeling more comfortable. We then hit the last stretch, and I can see the finish arch about ½ mile ahead. I start pushing again, but safely. It’s really hard but the view of the finish line helps. There are two runners in front of me : the girl, and a guy. She’s catching up on him, and is going to pass him. There's no way I’m going to catch her, but I start reeling in the guy. Then I realize that the finish line is different from the starting line, and I’ll have to negotiate a right turn after the starting line  and maybe have 50-60 yards to go. I was on the left of the road. I started going to the right, but the guy was already more on the right than me and he kind of cut me off (it was all good, he was following his normal lane). I stuttered slightly and fell behind him. I finished juuuust after him with the clock on the arch showing  1:27:30. AWESOME!

After, I couldn’t wait to congratulate the girl. She came in third female, and is in the 40-49 AG. Wow! She had 1:27:20 on her watch. Really great. We talked a bit, exchanged our names, then we went our separate ways. Met and chatted with a few runners I know, others I passed on the course. I was smiling and happy.

Decided not to stay for the awards, and just go home. Got in touch with the girl afterwards (Strava), and it turns out she lives close to my house. Maybe we'll go for an easy run together sometime.

Splits

Pics

I know you guys can't read splits in kms, but man, they are nice!

 

Yeah your log as a whole might as well be in another language. It's too bad too because you don't get the adulation you deserve, which I know you don't care about because you have more important friends who read in kilometres, I'm just saying.

 

Having said all of that the time itself is fantastic! You put in the work and reaped the benefits from it. I would imagine a 1:25 or better is the goal for your fall race?

Adulation? LOL!

I do not plan much for fall, because Italian family vacation. I was thinking a 10K. But it is just a thought for now.

1:25:59, a 90 seconds improvement, will not be done by fall, even without the vacation. It is quite a step from where I am.

I'll continue training and whatever improvement I get will be welcome.

 

Nice? They are amazing in any units, you were a freaking metronome out there. You ran a truly perfect race.

It would be interesting to see what you could do at other distances.

I added the 5K splits at the end of the RR. Those are easy for me to get, and pretty understandable by all.

What other distances did you mean? Shorter, I imagine?

 

 

What other distances did you mean? Shorter, I imagine?

Well, for a start. Your 5k PR is over 2 years old, and this HM time projects to about 18:30. Find a race in 2-3 weeks and see.

I knew the idea of you aiming for sub-1:30 was ridiculous and I'm glad you went for it. Great racing and great pacing! Congrats again!

Thanks PR and Ginny.

Dave, I dunno about my 5k pace. What I do know is the pace I would need to hold for that would be pure pain. I also have a 50K in 4 weeks.

Onemile, like you and the others tell me often, it's hard to keep track because I do not race often. And the races are exactly to put the dials back in the right place. I prefer having a soft goal and do better than go for a hard goal and break. Like in Boston, I went for 3:10 and finished in 3:18 in bad mental condition.

 

I added the 5K splits at the end of the RR. Those are easy for me to get, and pretty understandable by all.

 

What other distances did you mean? Shorter, I imagine?

Now that's some shit I can relate to, thank you. I've never looked at my spits that, yours are really impressive.