Hot Chocolate 15k

I didn't have any real goals for this race. I've been struggling a bit in the last 3 weeks. I hadn't felt great on most of my runs, and I was generally lacking confidence. I thought 1:07 was realistic, and 1:05 would be possible but it would be a stretch (and only possible if I was feeling great). I left my watch at home, and I reminded myself that there was no pressure for this race.

I showed up early and made sure I got to the front of the corral (there was so much riff-raff at this race). When the gun went off I felt just OK. In fact, I was doubtful that it was gonna be a good race. My legs seemed heavy and I thought I felt mediocre at best. But when I saw that the first mile came out to 6:50, it was a pleasant surprise. Maybe I was feeling better than I thought. Still, the pace seemed a little too fast, and I eased off a bit.

I left my watch at home. I've never done anything like this before. Hell, I won't go for a 3 mile training run without my watch. But I wanted to take the pressure off myself, and just run based on how I was feeling. I still paid attention to the clocks on the mile markers and I knew I was doing about 6:50-6:55 pace.

I hit the 5k mark at 21:13. I settled into a nice rhythm, and just relaxed. I regained some confidence and composure. Despite the 45,000 runners in this race, there were very few runners around me. I found myself really wanting someone to run with, but it didn't matter much, I was feeling good.

Between 5k and 10k I held onto a steady pace. These middle miles were quick. I was moving at a good pace, but didn't really feel like it was taxing me too badly. It excited me that I was this far in the race and the pace had such little impact on me. I crossed 10k at 42:15. Any doubt I had over the last 3 weeks was gone.

At 10k I was ready to make a move. I slowly started to push the pace. With 2 miles to go I still felt so damn good. I picked up the pace in a big way. As I passed small groups of people I ran next to the person who looked the strongest. I tried to get them to push harder with me, but they weren't up for it. This happened 3 times with 3 different people. I would have liked to find someone to push me to a faster finish.

The last mile felt similar to my last mile in recent successful races- full of piss and vinegar. It was so exhilarating to feel that strong at the end of the race. If I had to guess I'd say the last mile was between 6:10-6:20.

5k- 21:13
10k- 42:15
FINISH- 1:02:40 (6:44 pace)

105 OA
15 AG
12 minute PR

I am so surprised by the result of this race. It really helped me regain some confidence. I'm excited to train hard this winter.