Ninety Minutes. It wasn't too big a deal for much of my running career. I even broke 90 for a tough half (Stomp the Grapes) last year. But this year has been even more mediocre than last, and I haven't come close for the two halves I've run. Therefore today's expectations weren't high: to run around 92 minutes. Even that seemed a bit ambitious. That's 7 minutes per mile, and it's what I did here last year on a cold day. Yes, if I could do 92 minutes today, it would be a good one.
Temperatures were nice - low 40s and some fog. I started a little too fast, but I felt good the whole time, so I stayed with it. I came through the half-way point at around 44 and a half minutes. This was going better than expected. I did begin to slow down a bit in the second half. A couple energy gels perked me up some, and I did pick it back up, but I never got the pace back to as fast as those first few miles.
I passed a few runners in the final miles, and was closing in on a guy who looked to be in my age group, when we suddenly ran out of real estate. He was in my age group, so I missed out on an AG win by about 10 seconds. Sound familiar? My last three longer races have been like that, except that I did win one of the three. Although I did not manage to break 90, my 90:42 time was a good one. I'll definitely take it.
One other thing to add: I absolutely love this race. I see so many new and old friends that it's like a homecoming run. I'll never stop doing it!
2 comments:
Just admit it. You were flying Sunday! I know. I was working my butt off trying to catch you and I couldn't! Nice job Dan!
Great time Dan, wish I could have been there with you all.
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