Preliminary Gun Time: 01:10:01.000, 14/184 overall, 3rd AG. Pretty sure I finished 15th a few seconds after Jessie Stewart (3rd overall female), though. I’ve submitted a time review request.
Some thoughts:
1. I should calibrate my footpod.
2. I had two goals for this race: (1) beat my time last year (75 minutes), and (2) have a no-look race. My stretch goal was to finish sub-70. I was confident I’d beat 75 — not because of any fitness improvement, but rather because last year was sunny and hot, and this year cloudy and cool. I’m quite pleased to have smashed that goal. 🙂
3. I was so, so close to running my first no-look race. Ultimately, I ended up looking just once, around 2.2 miles. I started out fast, and I felt it in my chest. 6:04 min/mile… definitely too fast.
4. After settling in, the rest of the race was kind of a fun game of cat-and-mouse. Throughout the entire 10 miles, I was never a few seconds away from passing someone or a few seconds away from getting passed myself. Looking at the results now, there were 3 people within a 6 sec/mile ahead of me, and 4 people within 6 sec/mile behind. Even over the last two miles, I was shifting place with two other runners until the last 0.1 mile (and even then I was honestly afraid I was going to get out-kicked.)
5. On passing and getting passed — I’m definitely more competent going down than I am going up. Climbing is still something I’ve got to work on. Ultimately, I was consistently passing on downhills only to have the favor returned on the corresponding uphill.
6. Of course, this will be the year I missed sub-70 by some 12 seconds. I’m partly disappointed, but also partly “whatever” — I was actually shocked to even see 1:10 on the board when I ran onto the final turn. Since I wasn’t checking my watch at all, and I was suffering on the return trip, I was expecting to be closer to 72. So 70 feels pretty good.
7. On suffering — the hill from miles 4.5 through 5.5 succcckeeeeddd. I knew it was coming… and it’s really not that though of a hill at all! — but it still SUCKED. I found myself thinking: If this were an ultra, I’d be walking this thing. After exiting the turnaround section with a mild but still uncomfortable upper ab cramp, the only thought in my mind was “man, I’m glad I didn’t run the Ohlone 50K this weekend.”
8. And some miscellaneous notes — (1) I didn’t sleep well. I had volunteered to help at 6:50am, and I was afraid I’d oversleep. So I woke up at 3:30am, and every half hour afterward. (2) I didn’t use any water or Gu during this race, courtesy of good weather. (3) I’m glad this was only 10 miles; I started to feel GI issues develop during the last mile. I’m quite sure if this was a marathon, I would’ve definitely had to run through severe GI discomfort by mile 20.
NEXT UP:
* next Sunday! Ottawa Marathon!!! Canada!!!
* in two Sundays! The Lake Chabot Half! Basically the follow-up to this race.
* in three Sundays! Across The Bay 12K! Half looking forward to, and half NOT looking forward to racing over the Golden Gate Bridge… on the sidewalk (instead of the road).
