Getting to the race was a bit of a hassle. I'm spoiled living so close to Central Park. Once I arrived, I did a 2 mile warm up and entered the corral. Inside the corral I linked up with a handful of teammates, including Jeremy. Jeremy is close to my fitness level and had a similar game plan for this race. So we agreed to run together at the start.
The gun went off and it was SUPER crowded, but it thinned out quickly. After a bit of weaving, Jeremy and I were able to settle into a rhythm. We were clipping off 6:30 pace pretty easily. I was very pleased with how comfortable I felt at this pace.
The course was hillier than I expected. Nothing too crazy, but some modest rolling hills. Throughout the race we saw a ton of Whippets. It was great getting cheers from them and also latching on to other Whippet runners for a few seconds as we passed them. We did not get passed once in the entire race.
At mile 7 Jeremy and I agreed that it was time to gradually start pressing. Now that the "training run" had ended, it was time to race. After mostly restraining myself for the first 7 miles, I was excited to finally open it up and let the horses out of the barn.
By mile 7.5 Jeremy realized that I was on another level, and he let me go. The last 2 miles of the race were incredible. I was blowing by people and feeling amazing. The pace was uncomfortable, but there was so much strength, energy and excitement in this relentless forward progression. There are few feelings in the world like closing out a race with such a big surge.
The finish line came into sight and there was a steep downhill in the last 300 meters. It was fun to sprint down it. Unlike most races, I didn't feel like I was desperately begging to cross the line as it approached. I didn't tighten up, I was relaxed, and even managed a smile as I crossed.
Mile 1- 6:36
Mile 2- 6:33
Mile 3- 6:29
Mile 4- 6:30
Mile 5- 6:21
Mile 6- 6:32
Mile 7- 6:15
Mile 8- 6:10
Mile 9- 6:00
Mile10- 5:36
FINISH- 1:03:33 (6:22 pace)
I couldn't be happier with the way training is going right now. I've got a great coach, a great team, and I'm staying healthy. I'm excited about this path I'm going down and feel as though the sky is the limit.
