Race Judicata (9-12-13)

My goal for this race was to PR (19:02). For the last month I had been stressing out about this race because it was only 4 days after my half. I kept thinking, "Darby is gonna kill me!"I told myself that if I felt crappy I would just do this as a training run. But I knew I had a real chance to break 19:00. In fact, I was almost sure of it. 

I did a 1.5 mile warm-up, some drills, some sprints, and some dynamic stretching. And it all felt great. I was ready to rock, and it was nice to have the support of my co-workers at the race.

I lined up right on the start line and off we went. I knew I wanted quarter miles of 1:30 or 1:31. But I hit the first quarter mile in 1:25. Whoa! Waaaaay too fast, I was feeling great, but I eased off the gas a bit and a bunch of people passed me. I ran the first half mile in 3:00- perfect. I was feeling good, but the fatigue was slowly starting to creep in. First mile came out to 6:02.

The 2nd mile was REALLY windy. I dunno how much it affected my time, if at all, but there was a steady and strong wind. I slowed down some, but I didn't think I slowed down that much. I was hurting pretty badly, but it wasn't completely unbearable. My training was helping me fight through this. Mile 2 came out to 6:36. What?!? Get the fuck outta here! I know I slowed down some, but I didn't slow down that much. I think this mile marker was long (Garmin showed 1.04). 

I was hurting badly now, and I was discouraged by seeing that 6:36 split. But I still felt like I had a strong finish in me. I started to pick up the pace. By mile 2.5 the discomfort was intense. But I pushed on and kept quickening my pace. There was no one around me for most of the last mile. In the last half mile I passed 1 or 2 people, and I gained a lot of ground on a pack that was 150m ahead of me. But I never caught them. Mile 3 came out to 5:50 (I think this mile marker was short, Garmin showed 0.97).

As I approached the 3rd mile marker, I knew that 19:00 was out of reach. I still gave it everything and I kicked hard to the finish- I was completely spent.

Mile 1- 6:02
Mile 2- 6:36
Mile 3- 5:50
0.1- 0:38

FINISH- 19:08 (6:11 pace)

I'm disappointed with the outcome of this race. I was really confident I could break 19:00. Maybe it's because I'm not fully recovered from the half. On the other hand, I felt strong, and I put everything I had into it. I know it won't be long before I get under 19.