I really need to figure out what it is about races in Iowa. I have run 4 races there and have had to take biffy breaks (not due to GI issues) in 3 of them. Not sure what's up with that?
Short version:
57/6487 OA
54/3314 Gender
2/327 AG
1:15:52 (58 seconds slower than last year)
So, the plan going in for Brian and me was to line up near the front -- get out comfortably hard (6:00ish), pick it up in mile 2 due to the downhill and then lock on to 5:50ish pace the rest of the way -- giving a bit back on the uphills. Great PLAN...
So, first mile and 2nd mile felt GREAT -- right where I wanted to be. After that, started feeling that need for a biffy break. Brian was a little ways back, but I expected him to be right there.
Kept fighting the urge as much as I could and came through the 10 in 36:40 -- right where I wanted to be. Then just after mile 7 I knew that a stop was coming -- ARGH!!!! After the biffy break (45 seconds), I thought I saw Brian, so I backed off a bit to let him catch me. When he didn't I just kind of lost focus and phoned it in. Actually walked through 2 water stops and then walked a bit just before mile 12 to look back for Brian. So, I would say 8 or 9 good miles, but then it kind of fell apart...
Bottomline, I think that I had a better race in me, but as I told Brian -- a 20k is not what I am aiming for. My goal is in Chicago this fall and I need to focus on that!
Thanks for reading my sourgrapes -- overall, I did enjoye the event (other than getting my butt kicke by Brian in golf that afternoon).
Next year I need to post a runningahead meet-up -- didn't realize how many of us were going to be there!
Fashion report? Nah -- picture:
And you can quote me as saying I was mis-quoted. Groucho Marx
Rob
You still ran an incredibly fast race with faster 10k splits than most of us can hit for a single 10k. Holy smokes!
Great running....please don't let me line up next to you when you have your 'A' game on. Walt.
That's interesting that you would write about not executing the plan so well. After today's 10k race, a buddy of mine and I jogged a couple of cool down miles and we were chatting about our race and how things went during it. He mentioned that a plan is great but it's all in the execution.
I'd still say nice race and nice AG placement! The other thing is that I think you learned from this race by evaluating what went well and what didn't, and like you said, your goal race is Chicago so get back out there for your next training session! Thanks for the report and hopefully in Chicago you will be 'runningsmarter'
rs
Great Race, even if it didn't meet your expectations. I can not even fathom running that fast. Now I wished I'd stuck around for the awards. AG award...congrats. A meeting next year would be cool.
Janet
SteveP
It may not have been what you wanted, but it was still impressive, hermosa. With a 45 second "biffy break" and slowing to see if Brian could catch up, you were only 58 seconds off last year and got 2nd in a big AG. Way to go.
TomS
Most of your 58-sec was taken up in the biffy break, and the rest most likely came from when you backed off to wait for Brian and walked through the 2 water stops. To grab 2nd in your AG with all that is mighty impressive! All things considered (and let's not forget that you were racing in Iowa), I'd say you had a pretty dang-good race!
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
denise
Marathon Maniac #957
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
Like others have said, still a smokin' time. But I know what it's like to set a goal, have a plan and then have things go awry. Good luck at Chicago, keep your eye on the long term goal.