Notes
Really had a good time with this one. It was a bit of a drive to Maysville on a foggy morning, but the community and course were awesome. It was pretty sticky and humid, with both bridges almost totally shrouded in fog during the race. It's also been a while since I've done a longer race, so had to guess on my pacing a little. Probably set out a little too fast. Was able to keep things around 8 minute pace for the first half of the race.
A small group of faster runners broke away almost immediately, but after 1-2 miles in a second lead group formed that I tried to stick with for most of the race. It was one of the more fun race experiences I've had in a while as we jockeyed for position for the first 10K. On the Ohio side of the course I was passed a couple people and got passed by a couple of really fast girls. The pack started to get strung out climbing the second bridge. This was when things got pretty tough.
Coming off of the bridge I had a little chat with one of the guys I'd been chasing for awhile. I finally caught up to him and he informed me there was only one big hill left. It ended up being a pretty tough one after coming down the exit ramp from the second bridge. There was a long downhill after that and I thought I was regaining some speed, but based on my splits I mostly avoiding losing speed. I felt like I was reeling in the people in front of me a bit, but just didn't have the legs to really make a push. The last two miles were a real struggle just to avoid slowing to a jog.
There was one final small, but steep hill approaching the finish line that just about destroyed me. I thought I might get re-passed by the helpful guy, but I'd opened a pretty decent gap so I took it a little easy on the hill just to not pass out. Then it was all downhill to the finish thankfully. I was totally drenched from the humidity, but at least it didn't rain the entire time.
I won my age group again. I'm on a pretty good run with that. There were only three people in the group, but I only beat second place by a couple minutes so it made the effort feel worthwhile. The prize was a really cool, large wooden plaque. I would think the time should also be good enough to secure me a better corral for the marathon in January, which was the real goal for the race.