Heading into last night's race I really had two goals: run under 23 minutes and give an all out effort. It's been a couple months since I ran a road race and I was looking forward to racing, but at the same time my pacing is usually off a little when I don't race. At the start of the race it was about 80 and sunny--a little warmer than I thought it would be--still not 90 which was good.
The race started and I settled in well after running out a bit too fast. I hit the first mile in 5:28 and was hoping for a 5:35. Still, I did back off around the half mile point or I could've ended up at 5:15. That would have been WAY TOO FAST. After the first mile I was in 6th place and I could see the folks in 3, 4, and 5. I knew I just needed to keep them in my sight and just keep running hard. I hit the second mile in a 11:06 (5:38 second mile) and was feeling good. I was breathing hard and the heat was making it's mark on me, but I still was mentally holding strong. At the 3 mile mark I was still in 6th place and could see the folks in front of me. I went through there in 16:58 (5:52 3rd mile). At this point I knew that I was fading and that I was in danger of not achieving my goal of a sub 23 unless I really got it into gear. I locked in on the 2 guys in front of me and tried to make a run at them. At about 3.5 miles I had closed the gap to about 6 seconds, but then they started to race each other and pulled away. However, I really stayed locked in and finished strong to close out the race in 22:47 (5:48 last mile). Overall, I finished in 6th (out of 518 runners), averaged a 5:41.9 mile, and ran splits of 5:28, 5:38, 5:52, and 5:48.
All in all, I was very pleased with my effort. I got out too fast in 5:28, but I did not let it ruin my race. I was able to pull it together and still finish strong and reach my goal. Earlier in my running career getting out too fast would've meant I'd have bombed. The difference now is just mental toughness and the ability to hang on and deal with the pain. I knew I gave my absolute best effort because at the finish I just fell down and hit the ground. I was wiped out and tired. I LOVE that feelig. The feeling of giving it everything you have. Every ounce of effort you can muster. Running yourself to exhaustion. Call me crazy, or stupid, or whatever. For me, running like that honors the gift I've been given and it once again allows me to practice what I preach: Giving everything I do 100% of my effort. To not give 100% to what you do is dishonorable and really limits what you can achieve as a person. I'll never want to be like that...
Here are a couple cool pictures from the race. Myles and Sarah and then Myles and I after the race. Happy Labor Day and Happy Running to you...
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