Not too sure what to make of this one. I feel like I got in a good effort that didn’t translate out to the time it should have, plus it’s always nice to win, so overall I’m not too disappointed. Additionally, course aside, this was a nice little first-year event. They had close to 100 runners, and it was well organized with a well marked course and lots of volunteers. With a few tweaks, it could be a really good event. Anyway, on to the details.
While warming up, I quickly realized the course was not “relatively flat” as I had been led to believe. It was also extremely hot and humid, so I knew it was going to be tough day, and while I initially didn’t, I really should have adjusted my expectations accordingly. When the gun fired, we set off on around a quarter mile climb, with me in the lead and a guy wearing a Virginia Tech singlet in tow. As we topped the hill and leveled out, I began to pull away and pretty much ran the rest of the way by myself. I came through the mile in 5:25, which was disappointing because it felt much faster, then maintained that pace until I hit “the only hill on the course” (as Leslie was told afterward), which was somewhere past a mile and half. This thing was nothing short of ridiculous, and whatever chance I had at running fast was pretty much gone by the time I hit the top just past mile 2. The final mile was rolling and the finish was actually a nice downhill, but as Ray Stevens says in the song “The Streak,” by that point “it was toooooooooo late!” My legs were toast; my body felt like it was on fire; and all I could do was finish up.
I wasn’t at all pleased with my time at first, but when I saw the data on the course and thought about the conditions, I felt a little better. I’m pasting the elevation profile below for everyone’s amusement. FYI, it had 424 feet of ascent and 361 feet of descent. Nice! Also, multiple sources had it being a little long (3.17 miles, which would add 20-25 sec for me). So what does a 17:12 on a slightly long, crazy hilly course in brutal heat/humidity at the end of a hard training week mean? I have no idea nor do I really care. I got in a good workout and continued the rust-busting/return to fitness process and that’s all I care about. I’ll conclude with the same thing I sent Howard in my post-race e-mail: I’m still feeling good, still making progress, and still having fun. Long way to go, but I WILL get there.
Below is the elevation profile as well as a pic taken near the end of the race.
While warming up, I quickly realized the course was not “relatively flat” as I had been led to believe. It was also extremely hot and humid, so I knew it was going to be tough day, and while I initially didn’t, I really should have adjusted my expectations accordingly. When the gun fired, we set off on around a quarter mile climb, with me in the lead and a guy wearing a Virginia Tech singlet in tow. As we topped the hill and leveled out, I began to pull away and pretty much ran the rest of the way by myself. I came through the mile in 5:25, which was disappointing because it felt much faster, then maintained that pace until I hit “the only hill on the course” (as Leslie was told afterward), which was somewhere past a mile and half. This thing was nothing short of ridiculous, and whatever chance I had at running fast was pretty much gone by the time I hit the top just past mile 2. The final mile was rolling and the finish was actually a nice downhill, but as Ray Stevens says in the song “The Streak,” by that point “it was toooooooooo late!” My legs were toast; my body felt like it was on fire; and all I could do was finish up.
I wasn’t at all pleased with my time at first, but when I saw the data on the course and thought about the conditions, I felt a little better. I’m pasting the elevation profile below for everyone’s amusement. FYI, it had 424 feet of ascent and 361 feet of descent. Nice! Also, multiple sources had it being a little long (3.17 miles, which would add 20-25 sec for me). So what does a 17:12 on a slightly long, crazy hilly course in brutal heat/humidity at the end of a hard training week mean? I have no idea nor do I really care. I got in a good workout and continued the rust-busting/return to fitness process and that’s all I care about. I’ll conclude with the same thing I sent Howard in my post-race e-mail: I’m still feeling good, still making progress, and still having fun. Long way to go, but I WILL get there.
Below is the elevation profile as well as a pic taken near the end of the race.
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