Notes
August 16, 2009 8am
It was kind of chilly between 5-7am this morning, at least relative to most temperatures as of late. In reality the temperature was probably maybe upper 60s when I woke up, increasing to mid 70s by the start of the race. It was sunny, but not incredibly humid. Given the partial tree cover of this portion of the NCR Trail, you really can’t hope for better weather for a race in mid August.
It is well documented how flat the NCR Trail is. The portion of the trail for this race has negligible changes in elevation, so it was about as flat as a race can be without being on a track.
I arrived sans Val (who had planned on going to a bridal show this morning) at the NCR Trail parking lot at about 7am. Last year, I arrived at 7am to pretty much tumbleweeds. This year, the parking lot was probably 2/3 full already! Much to the chagrin of the cyclists showing up for an early morning ride, most of these people were for the race. There was some kind of youth group in attendance (for at least the second consecutive year). Even though this group is mainly teenagers, they seem to have better running/race etiquette than many other runners. I suppose it could be because they showed up to race, and not just to jog.
No port-a-potties in the parking lot this year, so I jogged out to the ½ mile point and back prior to the race to use the one there. Fortunately it was just for a quick pit stop, as there was no toilet paper. Warm-up, stretch, GU, etc.
The race probably began a couple of minutes early. I started much further back in the pack than I originally thought. There trail is wide enough at the start to accommodate only 5-6 runners abreast, so the field was deep. I started my watch at the word “GO!” so that way I could monitor my official time and not err in hitting my goal time (34:00) After the start, I quickly started to pass people who clearly lined up to far in front. Just like last year, three or four members of the youth group surged up with the leaders, where they stayed for (to my knowledge, at least) the duration of the race. Also, just like last year, a few others hung with me until the turning point, and even others I had to struggle to pass afterwards! I didn’t dwell on this, I just remember the same thing happening last year.
I tried to focus on breathing and striding during the race, in addition to hitting my splits. I was worried that I was getting lazy in the long, slow runs and letting my stride fall apart, so I wanted to make sure this wasn’t still the case.
Splits:
- 6:44 (my watch was started a few seconds after the official watch)
- 6:51 (I was a little confused by this split. I still felt like I was moving well, but maybe I got caught napping a bit after the good first mile. The first water stop was about 1.5 miles into the race. I clearly remember surging a bit after that and catching up to the next pack)
- 6:45 (This included the ultra-sharp turnaround point. There’s not much else you can do on the NCR Trail. However, unlike the race Alden and I ran with the Harford road runners, the turnaround point included not only a sign, but also a person telling you to turnaround. It’s a bit of a momentum killer, but oh well.)
- 6:44 (At this point, I was not only amazed with my consistent splits, but also that I felt like I had a good mile left in me. I guess the hills have been a great substitute for track intervals. Also, five miles seems like a pretty short run at this point.)
- 6:30 (While the trail has mile markers, the race started on the ½ mile marker of the course. Unless you run this part of the trail often, you’re not really familiar with where the miles are. This was probably an advantage I held over some other participants. Even without the Forerunner, I would have been able to tell roughly when a mile was left. I surged ahead of two runners who had been trailing me for maybe a mile, and then two more who I had been eyeing since the first mile mark).
My unofficial time is 33:40. That beat goal time of 34:00, and smashed my previous 5-mile PR set at the same race last year (35:20).
Here’s something strange. I just checked out my splits from last year…
1- 7:01
2- 7:14
3- 7:02
4- 7:06
5- 6:50- 35:20
It’s kind of eerie. Mile 1, 3, and 4 were very similar in 2009, just like in 2008. Additionally, the second mile was considerably slower, with the last mile being considerably faster.
The only issue I had during the race was that my right Achilles tendon kind of got chewed up by my racing flats. This stung like hell, but it looks as though it will heal (PUN) in the next day or two.