Ever since my success at the Georgetown Half last month, I've been completely convinced that my goal of running the Chicago Marathon in less than 4 hours will be a reality. Today's race bolstered that mind-set even more (not that it really needed it). Although it was touch-and-go for a few miles...
Everything started out fantastic. The morning was nice and cool, and I was energized and ready for a great race. After a quick warmup jog and some strides, I put myself pretty far towards the front, just behind the 8 minute mile sign. I held back only slightly during the first mile, which I finished in 8:10. I'd planned on between 8 and 8:10 for the rest of the race. I knew it would be a challenge--my old 10 mile PR was an 8:27 pace, and for the last 2 years I haven't been able to maintain an 8-minute pace for 10k. Still, bolstered as I was by my GTIS results (after all, I'd averaged 8:20 at that race) and my physical and mental training, I was confident that I'd succeed.
I cruised through the second mile in 7:46. This was a trifle faster than I'd intended, but I'd wanted to make up some time before I hit the aid station. The only problem was, there was no aid station at the end of that mile! I was mildly disconcerted by this, as I'd thought there would be aid stations every two miles. But I pushed on and found the first aid station a half mile later. I refueled on gatorade and water and kept running, and finished mile 3 in 8:11. I was definitely on track to set a new PR, maybe even (if I pushed it a bit more) come in under 80 minutes.
I averaged 8:00 for the next 2 miles into Cheeseman Park. My pace slipped a little during the climb in Cheeseman, but I was confident that I'd be able to make up the difference on the downhills. Suddenly, though, I started feeling very, very tired. I tried to push through it, using all the mental tips and tricks I've learned from the mental coaching I've been doing with Coach Ashley over the summer. But I couldn't seem to rally myself. Even hearing Jen cheer for me at the 6 mile mark and Anissa at the 7.5 mile aid station didn't seem to help. At least I was able to resist the very strong temptation to let myself walk...
I felt so slow! I wouldn't let myself look at my Garmin for fear of really getting depressed. As it was, by this time I was sure an 80-minute race was off the table. However, as I finished mile 8 I got a bit of a second wind. I'd been running for just over 65 minutes, and had 2 miles to go. That meant I could still set a new PR even if I slowed to a 9:30 pace for those last miles! Not that I intended to go that slowly, of course. But the realization that I was going to PR put that last spring in my step and a smile on my face, and gave me the energy I hadn't thought I had anymore. Newly energized, I covered mile 9 in 8:10 and the last mile in 8:04, giving myself a new 10 mile PR, about 2 1/2 minutes faster than the Snowman Stampede back in February.
After the race I checked my splits for all the miles, certain that I'd slipped to 9:00 pace for miles 6 through 8. To my immense surprise, I had not: mile 6 was 8:09, and I finished mile 7 in 7:56! Only mile 8 was comparatively slow, clocking in at 8:57. I'm not sure why those miles felt so much slower than they actually were; but I'm encouraged by the fact that even though I felt so tired I was still more or less maintaining the pace I'd started with. This was yet more proof that I'm going to hit my goal in Chicago next month.
Official Time: 1:21:56
YTD Race Miles: 129.2
YTD Total Miles: 922.8
D'oh: I was talking with April from Runner's Edge after the race, about the person calling out splits at 3.8 miles (instead of 4). "I don't know if she was still there when you passed," I said. "Well...yes. I was only 2 minutes behind you," came the response.
Everything started out fantastic. The morning was nice and cool, and I was energized and ready for a great race. After a quick warmup jog and some strides, I put myself pretty far towards the front, just behind the 8 minute mile sign. I held back only slightly during the first mile, which I finished in 8:10. I'd planned on between 8 and 8:10 for the rest of the race. I knew it would be a challenge--my old 10 mile PR was an 8:27 pace, and for the last 2 years I haven't been able to maintain an 8-minute pace for 10k. Still, bolstered as I was by my GTIS results (after all, I'd averaged 8:20 at that race) and my physical and mental training, I was confident that I'd succeed.
I cruised through the second mile in 7:46. This was a trifle faster than I'd intended, but I'd wanted to make up some time before I hit the aid station. The only problem was, there was no aid station at the end of that mile! I was mildly disconcerted by this, as I'd thought there would be aid stations every two miles. But I pushed on and found the first aid station a half mile later. I refueled on gatorade and water and kept running, and finished mile 3 in 8:11. I was definitely on track to set a new PR, maybe even (if I pushed it a bit more) come in under 80 minutes.
I averaged 8:00 for the next 2 miles into Cheeseman Park. My pace slipped a little during the climb in Cheeseman, but I was confident that I'd be able to make up the difference on the downhills. Suddenly, though, I started feeling very, very tired. I tried to push through it, using all the mental tips and tricks I've learned from the mental coaching I've been doing with Coach Ashley over the summer. But I couldn't seem to rally myself. Even hearing Jen cheer for me at the 6 mile mark and Anissa at the 7.5 mile aid station didn't seem to help. At least I was able to resist the very strong temptation to let myself walk...
I felt so slow! I wouldn't let myself look at my Garmin for fear of really getting depressed. As it was, by this time I was sure an 80-minute race was off the table. However, as I finished mile 8 I got a bit of a second wind. I'd been running for just over 65 minutes, and had 2 miles to go. That meant I could still set a new PR even if I slowed to a 9:30 pace for those last miles! Not that I intended to go that slowly, of course. But the realization that I was going to PR put that last spring in my step and a smile on my face, and gave me the energy I hadn't thought I had anymore. Newly energized, I covered mile 9 in 8:10 and the last mile in 8:04, giving myself a new 10 mile PR, about 2 1/2 minutes faster than the Snowman Stampede back in February.
After the race I checked my splits for all the miles, certain that I'd slipped to 9:00 pace for miles 6 through 8. To my immense surprise, I had not: mile 6 was 8:09, and I finished mile 7 in 7:56! Only mile 8 was comparatively slow, clocking in at 8:57. I'm not sure why those miles felt so much slower than they actually were; but I'm encouraged by the fact that even though I felt so tired I was still more or less maintaining the pace I'd started with. This was yet more proof that I'm going to hit my goal in Chicago next month.
Official Time: 1:21:56
YTD Race Miles: 129.2
YTD Total Miles: 922.8
D'oh: I was talking with April from Runner's Edge after the race, about the person calling out splits at 3.8 miles (instead of 4). "I don't know if she was still there when you passed," I said. "Well...yes. I was only 2 minutes behind you," came the response.
