Maple Grove Half
The beginning of my training went really well, the best I had ever had until 6 weeks ago when I found out I had a stress reaction in my right tibia. I ended up not running for almost 4 weeks and and have only been back with minimal mileage the past couple weeks. This race is only a couple miles from our house and on some great paved trails through parks and along a lake.
Wokw up at 5:30am to gusting winds (20 mph sustained with gusts) and temps in the upper 30s, I think it was low 40s during the race. It took me about an hour to decide what to wear, finally decided on shorts, winter socks, 2 tech shirts (one long sleeve and one short sleeve), a jacket, gloves and headband. It was so nice to only leave 30 minutes before the actual race start. We lined up on the track for one lap before heading out. My plan was to run comfortable and stay behind the 1:45 pace leader, he wasn't a very good pace leader, he kept stopping at the mile to catch up on time since he was running way too fast.
I never race with my iPod, but I figured I might need to motivation, so I put together a great play list and brought it with. Due to the wind there were no mile markers or finish line marker, just the mat on the ground. For a small local race there were a lot of spectators and race support.
Mile 1 7:40 A little fast
Mile 2 7:57
Mile 3 8:00
Mile 4 7:48
Mile 5 8:03
Mile 6 8:04
Mile 7 8:03
Mile 8 8:45 (Strong winds and hills)
Mile 9 8:47 (Big hill into the wind)
Mile 10 8:08
Mile 11 8:04
Mile 12 8:02
Mile 13 8:05
Final: 1:47 8:10 pace. Only 5 min off my PR, so I can't be too upset due to the conditions and my lack of recent training. The leg felt great and still feels good today. There were times when the wind was so strong, I felt like someone was pushing me backwards. There was also a part that we ran under a highway next to a lake and it stuck like nasty rotting fish.
Mentally I needed this race to know that I can handle the full next weekend after my injury and lack of training. I plan to take it easy and start out slow, for once. Maybe I can actually learn the smart way to race.
Wokw up at 5:30am to gusting winds (20 mph sustained with gusts) and temps in the upper 30s, I think it was low 40s during the race. It took me about an hour to decide what to wear, finally decided on shorts, winter socks, 2 tech shirts (one long sleeve and one short sleeve), a jacket, gloves and headband. It was so nice to only leave 30 minutes before the actual race start. We lined up on the track for one lap before heading out. My plan was to run comfortable and stay behind the 1:45 pace leader, he wasn't a very good pace leader, he kept stopping at the mile to catch up on time since he was running way too fast.
I never race with my iPod, but I figured I might need to motivation, so I put together a great play list and brought it with. Due to the wind there were no mile markers or finish line marker, just the mat on the ground. For a small local race there were a lot of spectators and race support.
Mile 1 7:40 A little fast
Mile 2 7:57
Mile 3 8:00
Mile 4 7:48
Mile 5 8:03
Mile 6 8:04
Mile 7 8:03
Mile 8 8:45 (Strong winds and hills)
Mile 9 8:47 (Big hill into the wind)
Mile 10 8:08
Mile 11 8:04
Mile 12 8:02
Mile 13 8:05
Final: 1:47 8:10 pace. Only 5 min off my PR, so I can't be too upset due to the conditions and my lack of recent training. The leg felt great and still feels good today. There were times when the wind was so strong, I felt like someone was pushing me backwards. There was also a part that we ran under a highway next to a lake and it stuck like nasty rotting fish.
Mentally I needed this race to know that I can handle the full next weekend after my injury and lack of training. I plan to take it easy and start out slow, for once. Maybe I can actually learn the smart way to race.
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