My original goal for this race was to match or better my previous 15K time from 2008 to benchmark my fitness against that year. After Saturday's harder than planned run, I had decided to run for fun and see how I would do hoping for around 8's but know that my legs would be tired. When I woke up this morning and it was 67 degrees I was very excited, it was short lived though because it was super windy. I got up and ready and felt good and headed down to the race site. I was nervous about parking, so I arrived in plenty of time and then spent the next 15 min in the car where it was warm. Finally got out and worked my way over to the staging area and warmed up for a mile and then went to line up. I lined up with Cai from our congregation and her dad and wished them luck and we were off. I started to far back so I spent a lot of time weaving through and around people for the first mile and this along with the last mile were the only two miles with out wind. After mile 2 I could tell my legs were tired but that I could push through. From mile 3 - 8.75 there are 6 short but steep climbs and all but one go right back down. The first two were fine, but after the water stop at 4.5 I really struggled getting my legs to move . Started seeing the leaders at this point and they were booking it - the leader won in 52:58 (This race is also the RRCA Southern Region 15K Championship - so it is speedy). Hit the turn around at 5.5 and GU'd along with a super cold washcloth to cool off with. Started feeling really good until I just about 7 when we had the climb that does not go right back down. This was the hardest part of the race for me, my legs were tired and the wind was picking up. We were up on this plateau and I was seriously thinking I was going to loose my balance and fall. Hit the water stop at mile 8 and could not drink, so went on my way. The last .5 for me always drags and this was no exception. I felt like I was running slow and the finish was not getting any closer. Crossed the finish at 1:15:32 - PR. Met up with Lindsay and her friends and chatted with them for a while and cheered Cai in on her finish. I did not stick around to long but they had a pretty good after party going on and if I could eat after I run, I could have had a feast. I miss the post SG Ice Cream - that is the best.
I feel really good about this run. I ended up accomplishing what I had originally planned on and finishing strong. I walked through all the water stations, which is something I need to work on changing - maybe start with walking one, running one. This only confirms what I learned on Saturday, I have not been pushing myself enough and I can do much more than I think, it all comes down to the mental battle. Overall, this is a tougher course than my previous 15K and the winded definitely added to the battle. I would suspect that on a good day, I would be closer to 1:13 - 1:14.
Splits: 8:10, 8:06, 8:16, 8:01, 8:17, 8:11, 8;01, 7:56, 7:54, 2:36
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