Notes
Temp 54 Wind 5 mph. Humidity 70%.
70-year old James H. has brought a crew from Southern Illinois here today. Includes 20-something Blake Davenport and his wife. Expects BD to go sub-17 and wife sub-21. Men's and women's OA is a done deal. Rest of us will be playing for second.
Never been here before, so scouted out the course as best I could. Nasty-ass piece of work. A dozen turns over steep up and down hills. Over 200+ of climbing with a +15 profile. Winds through residential areas mostly on cement roads that were poured in 60s and 70s. Uneven, cracked, buckled, and potted...will be rough on legs. Decide that I will race for second OA, focus on keeping good form start to finish, and not beat myself to a pulp.
First 1/10 of a mile is straight down hill. Take a right at the bottom, then start to climb again. There are at least 10-12 runners ahead of me at the bottom of the hill, and several are women. Take it easy on the climb and pass all but six. Make the next right turn, pass two more males and Ms. D. Continue on and hear my half mile alert. Glance and see that I am running 6:08 average pace. We're cool.
Have a 50+ foot climb over the next half mile. Relax and glide past two more male runners. Blake is doing his thing, I am doing my thing, and we both appear to have a couple of lonely miles ahead of us. Mile #1 Garmin split = 6:20.
Mile #2 is a beast. Two 50 foot climbs and one 50 foot drop. Get through the first climb fine. Second one starts to hammer on me towards the top. I puss-out some and ease up towards the top. Mile #2 Garmin split = 6:30.
Only one more significant climb to go, and it starts at about 2.3 miles. This one cold cocks me and I puss-out big time. Just not in the mood to destroy myself for second place this morning. Last half of mile three is favorable, so relax, run smooth, and try to re-start quick turnover. Mile #3 Garmin split = 6:15. Average pace for rest of race = 6:01 and there was a small incline the last block before the finish line.
Clock Time = 19:09. 2nd Place OA. 1st Place 50-59 AG. Course plots to 3.14 miles. Have 3.01 on my Garmin. Lots of steep hills, so probably somewhere in between (3.08ish maybe). Don't remember the last time I raced at 155 lbs. Pussed out twice and still ran 19:09...little disappointed with myself, but happy with the time considering I am not in any kind of 5K racing shape. Damn it! Could have won that other Azalea Run a few weeks ago.