Distance: 6.22
Results:
Considering how specific my goal was, the results were .. um .. a tad frustrating. Considering the friggin INSANE conditions, however, the results are deemed: 110% SUCCESS! :)
In more detail .. if you review the screen caps, my official average pace is 9:10. The official is what counts. Period. So I did not hit my 10% goal of having a 9:08 avg pace for this race. It's just a womp, womp that the pace on my watch reads 9:03, and that by that account, I had it.
The first 3 miles were as advertised. My legs felt a little heavy, and for sure protested the race pace with some stiffness. But in good time found an 8:40 pace that felt controlled and maintainable.
At about mile 3, the alert level officially went from Yellow: Caution to Red: High Alert. Mid-race, I began to fear a re-do of the HELL that was the Memorial Day Freedom Run. Running up Cardiac Hill was fine, but the effects of that effort on miles 4-5 were ROUGH. At that point, I was absolutely POSITIVE I would not be able to push the pace back up past 9:30-10 the whole rest of the way. My legs were screaming (usual for this point), and my energy level was already ZAPPED (unusual for this point). It took a GOOD BIT of water, and some more steady flat before I began to push again. And not even my normal push, where I feel like I am going HARD. (balls to the wall is the official term. ;) ) Just push back to goal pace was tough. At the turn to 10th, I finally felt recovered to race pace plus effort, but even then, I didn't touch under 8, which for .2, I should be capable of. The straight away seemed even longer than last year. The finish line FINALLY made an appearance right as I figured I'd pass out. This gave me just enough of a mental cue to get it done. (Not enough of a mental cue for person running right next to me, who decided that seeing the finish line = toss cookies and fall to the ground. EEP! Faster just to avoid the splash zone!
The post race walk around Piedmont Park was just as exhausting as last year!! (hmmm, I thought we were done with being a 'dead at 6.2' newb? .. Running says: no silly, that's the feeling you should approach at any race distance when you hit your (always changing) race pace. I hobbled to all of the required stops, and then to the Tavern for after party libations with comrades.
.. 90% of the field (guessimating by the responses of all my friends to 'how'd it go,' of course .. very scientific) struggled HARD with the race conditions. Even knowing this, there is a smidge of regret; if I knew I was 7-13 seconds off goal time, I could have fought harder somewhere, I am positive. I never found that "make it hurt" pace .. or at least not for any of the right reasons.
Conclusion: I paced like a champ, and if I can train to keep this pace for 13.1, I'd be at 2:00:10 come Thanksgiving or Jeff Galloway (target 1/2) in December. The JG course will most likely be equally challenging. Its in Atlanta, after all. But it will not be sweltering, so I will have a smidge of a leg up on conditions, most likely. 56:54 replaced PR of 58:42. Sizzler WILL be added to the calendar. (Sorry, not sorry, Chicago). And now we celebrate!
Pre Race
Meeting up with all the Phoenix Direct co-workers running Peachtree. :) Great way to begin the (friggin early morning) with lots of cheer and good vibes from friends!
For sure feeling like a COOL KID entering the corral gate for A-E. The slowest of the fastest! Wooooooo!
Twinning!
I invested WAY TOO MUCH TIME trying to get these beers to total 4 stories! HAHA.
The best thing I have EVER eaten!
Oh and tots forgot ... still committed to dat hair game goal! ;) :)
You never said your goal was an official 9:08 avg pace. Since you covered more than the 6.22mi of tangent course, you really did obliterate this goal. You ran a 9:03/mi avg pace, because you covered more distance.
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