Bob was ahead of me, and Ladd and Chuck were behind. Would I be able to catch Bob? Would Chuck and Ladd catch me? Such were the Big Questions being asked at Saturday's Spring Classic Half Marathon.
Based on my conviction that tapering is overrated, I ran hard last weekend - doing gobs of hills at Hinckley both Saturday and Sunday. These runs were followed up by 15 Monday, 10, including a tempo run Tuesday morning along with speedwork Tuesday night. Now I did take it easier for the next couple days, and I even took Friday off. I was actually feeling mighty decent as I lined up Saturday morning.
It was cold early on, but as the sun began to heat things up I felt warmer and warmer. I even threw down my arm sleeves, hat and gloves as I went by Dan that first time around. I really like this race because the double out and back allows everyone to see everyone else, as well as to go by the start/finish in the middle of the race. And that's how I knew that Bob wasn't too far ahead and that Ladd and Chuck were not too far behind. I was trying hard to run easy and relaxed, but somehow things were still fairly difficult.
I never caught Bob. Chuck and Ladd never caught me. I stayed at about the same pace for the entire race, despite an attempt at a strong finish. My time was 1:30:50 or thereabouts. This was almost exactly the same time as I had last fall on this course. That time I was second in my age group; this time I was first.
My friends from the Medina County Roadrunners were out in force. It was great to see so many of them do so well. It's what running and racing are all about.
Next up is Boston. After this Saturday race I ran 20 on Sunday at hilly Hinckley. Taking Monday off and then doing speedwork Tuesday. Other than that, it'll be an easy week.
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