I woke up so damn early. I was out of bed at 3:00am. I don't know why, I was just excited and couldn't go back to sleep. I was out the door around 7:15am. The race was a nice 1.5 mile warm up from my condo. Conditions were good- low 40s with a few small wind gusts. I got to the race early, but that is necessary at large events like this (40,000 runners). I waited in the chute for a good 30 minutes and just tried to stay loose. I don't like standing around for that long. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but I was antsy.
Finally we were off. I was feeling good in the first few minutes, but I tried to hold back. Considering how little I knew about my fitness, I didn't want to go out too fast. I hit the first mile in 7:26. I thought this was too slow and felt like I should pick it up. I saw my sister shortly after the first mile. It was nice of her to come out. I started to get a pretty bad cramp or sidestitch. It was really uncomfortable and it stayed with me for the entire race. Fortunately it started to become less noticeable by the end.
I love this course and running through the city streets. I'm pretty infatuated with my city. There were great crowds, and it was nice to be around so many other runners. Despite the discomfort, I felt a strong sense of joy from my surroundings.
My confidence started to grow around mile 2.5 and I began to push the pace a little more, still trying to save something for the end. I was passing a lot of people. I hit mile 2 in 7:11 and mile 3 in 7:16. But I knew I could do better. With just 2 miles remaining I felt ready to turn it up a notch and I pushed even harder. I hit mile 4 in 6:53. That split gave me a big boost, and I was feeling great. I thought, "You've only got 1 mile to go and you just ran a 6:53?? Let's friggin do this!"
I really gave it my all in the last mile. Yet it didn't hurt that badly. I was so happy to be in this situation after being away from it for so long. With about 400m left the finish line came into sight and I tried to leave it all out on the course. I was passing a ton of people, but some guy came up behind me. I decided not to let him pass me, so I made a move and we both broke into an all out sprint. With about 150m to go I pulled ahead slightly and I could tell that I was faster than this guy. But he was in better shape and there was just too much distance for me to hold it. He pulled ahead about 40m from the finish and I eased off. We high-fived at the finish and I complemented him on his kick.
Mile 1- 7:26
Mile 2- 7:11
Mile 3- 7:16
Mile 4- 6:53
0.97- 6:11
FINISH: 35:00 (7:02 pace)
Overall I'm really pleased with this race. I'm surprised with where I'm at (especially on such low mileage). I desperately hope to stay healthy. The thought of burning out again is really upsetting.
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