This was a fun race. I hung out with Lybi and James and enjoyed the view of the backs of their heads during the race! It was around 60 degrees, extremely rare for Phoenix at this time of the year. It was an out and back course on the canal, so it was pretty narrow. The race featured a staggered start that got pretty mixed up. My handicap was supposed to be 12:15, and it ended up being more like 15:00. I started with the fast, young guys. Oops! It was a little uphill for the first quarter or so, and then obviously downhill at the end, which helped. With such a narrow course, there were people all over the place who didn't have a clue about running etiquette, and it was frustrating having to weave in and out of people for the ENTIRE race. But, I couldn't have asked for better weather. The t-shirt was cool too, and the entry fee was cheap.
My only goal in this race was to break 26:00. I really just wanted to gauge my fitness. I was VERY sore until last night and was still pretty sore this morning, so I was concerned that I wouldn't do as well as I wanted to. I did a 1.8 mile warmup (my longest warmup ever) and dynamic stretches, and I think they helped. I started the race feeling nice and loose.
The first mile was 8:14, slower than I had wanted to run. Part of it was probably the crowds, and the other part was just the way I race. I saw Lybi near the turn-around part, and she was in the zone! There was a water stop (with ice water!) at the turnaround point, so I lost a few seconds there. Second mile was 7:59, and that's when I really started passing people, which I LOVED! Mile 3 was 7:56, and the last .1 was 6:51. I almost ran several people over, which I kind of feel bad about, but come on people! Take off your iPods and run on the right side of the path! I almost mowed a lady down near the very end-oops!
My performance today was about 90 seconds better than my 5K time at the beginning of my last marathon training cycle. This time puts me on track for a sub-4 hour marathon, which I am confident will improve as my training continues. Woo-hoo!
I did a 2-mile cooldown when I got home. |