Notes
Ron Daws 25K. A four minute PR on this course on a day I wasn't 100%.
This race started off great even though I wasn't feeling great. That cough that I thought I got rid of came back Thursday night and into Friday and I spent most of the drive over coughing. That was annoying. I ran well in a 6 person pack for the first 7.5ish miles until we started climbing up Puke's Peak. As we were climbing, my cough got worse and I started to drop off the pack. The hill was tough for me and by the time I got over the top, I was coughing pretty badly. I kept running but now I was on my own. I kept pushing but I just never felt great and that slowed me down. My legs were feeling pretty heavy and it was tough. I ran hard but it just wasn't the same as if I were feeling healthy. The last three hills were really tough and the coughing got worse and worse and it was exacerbated each and every time I went up a hill. The last half mile was awesome though and I was really able to pick it up and cruise into a sub-6 mile pace. I crossed the finish line and I was happy that I hadn't coughed up a lung. It took me about two minutes to stop coughing.
Overall, this was a very good effort for me and I averaged 6:31/mi. I'm pleased with how this went considering the course and my health. Also, the temp was only 15 degrees and with 10 mph winds.