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12/9/2012

9:09 AM

5 mi

30:29.80

6:06 mi

Health

146 lb
2311
54.6

Weather

52 F

Notes

Jingle All the Way 8k. Official time 30:30 for 62nd place. It had been raining until just before the race. During the race the roads were wet (but I had no problem with traction) and it was humid and windy going certain directions. I was shooting for sub-30 and 5:58/mi. pace. I was on pace through 5k, which I probably passed a little before 18:37 (when I looked at my watch). That uphill starting at the end of mile 1 and continuing, through two quick turn-arounds, into mile 2, didn't wear me out as much as it has in the past, and I didn't try to get back under 6 on the downhill. That may have enabled me to get back under 6 in mile 3, which (like mile 2 in the recent 5k) is a first. But early in mile 4, when I was tired and beginning to struggle, we ran into a headwind for more than half a mile, beginning right after another turn-around. That defeated me, but I didn't stop trying even though it was clear by then that I was slipping beyond repair. Mile 5 was not into the wind, but by then I was too tired to run faster than I did. If I had run 6 minute pace during those last two miles, I would have finished in 30:01. I would have been just under 30 if I had maintained the average pace from my first three miles of 5:59. The wind is partly to blame, and *maybe* I could have done it under ideal conditions. But that doesn't matter. It's a small PR and I ran hard. Mile three alone shows that I'm somewhere I've never been. If I were running Pike's Peek today with the weather we had last year, I probably would have finished faster than I did then - that is, faster than my best race to date. I'm in better shape - a little bit, with much room for improvement. This morning I ate only a banana with no gel and had the least stomach trouble I've had in a long time in a short race. Last night I ate a slightly smaller dinner than usual and then ate more than usual a bit before going to bed (bagel with PB&H, then some potatoes and banana bread). It worked well.

Training Plan Entry

Race

5 mi

Jingle All the Way 8k (registered)

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