Notes
Wow, incredible day! My goal coming into the day was just to try to beat my time at Pittsburgh last May, a 1:21. A more secondary goal was to try to break 1:20. I had no idea that I would be able to go so far under 1:20! The first mile was straight downhill which helped me get out to a great fast pace. It also helped establish a quick turnover too.
I knew that the first mile was going to be fast, but I was really surprised how I managed to latch on to the lead pack and cruise the first 5k in around 17:40. I started to struggle to maintain 5:40's, so I dropped off and started pacing with the next runner back. We cruised the next few miles in 6:00-6:08 up until the turnaround at the 7th mile. As soon as we rounded the cone to start heading back the race between the two of us was on. We both dropped from 6:10's back into the 5:50 range.
I definitely believe that the adrenaline really pulled me through the race. The excitement of hitting 10k in 36:40 and then the 10 mile in 59:22 (2 minute best!) really reassured that my training is paying off more than I expected. After we turned around and started passing the other runners, hearing the hundreds of others cheering gave an additional boost. Also, on the way back from the turnaround, the trail was slightly downhill. That surely helped keep my turnover going.
I felt so smooth for the first 11.5 miles or so, then the crowd disappeared and the next half mile was mentally tougher. When I passed 12 though I knew I was in the last stretch, but the speed started to take its toll on my legs and I really felt a bit sluggish the last mile. On top of that, 5th place pulled away in the last 2 miles, so I had no one to race directly. Either way, I knew that I was going to roll on to a great time, so I managed to hold it together and bring it in strong.
The most surprising thing was that I never really felt that out of breath at any point in the race, or even after the finish. I was certainly tired and my quads ached terribly, but I felt great aerobically. Either training has gone that well, or the 6:00 pace is less demanding aerobically than the 5:30-5:40 pace of shorter races.
Compared to all my other races, this is by far my greatest race. I am really pumped looking forward, and also for this race in the future. I am already setting my sights on 1:15 a year from now. But that is for another time.
My marathon equivalent performance is a 2:44, so I am actually "ahead" of my race goal. Now I just have to finish the next 3 weeks strong! Time to ease up, recover, and mentally prepare for a race that will hopefully be every bit as great as this!