Last Saturday I ran the Red River Revel 15K (9.3 miles) in Shreveport. The weather was pretty nice by the start of the race, but half an hour before it was a bit nippy out during my short warmup. When the gun when off I jumped out in the lead expecting some of the 15K guys to pass me at least. If only I had done that instead I'd be one pair of New Balance shoes richer! Anyhow, my first mile came in 5:38 and based on last year's 6:04/mile pace I figured I'd shoot for about a 6 flat. I told myself I should probably ease up a bit and the second mile came in 11:26 followed up by the third in 17:23. The knee was acting up almost right away but wasn't getting any worse so I just pushed on at my pace and the legs felt great. I was looking forward to the halfway point to see where the competition was and with the route being straight out and back you get to see everyone in the race. Right before the turnaround I had already squeezed the GU out into my mouth ready to grab some water and wash it down. I guess the girl working the station didn't see me or just expected me to grab it myself so I eyed the last cup so as not to knock the whole row over and missed. I had to stop, take a few steps back, grabbed the water, and turned the corner as I downed it. The second and third guys were roughly 20"-30" behind me and I was feeling pretty confident. Mile five was 29:12. Little did I know until after the race that the second place guy at the time was negative splitting the whole race. About 1.5 miles left in the race I saw a shadow to my side and was wondering if someone out for a morning jog was running up behind me or what. Then he passed me and I tried to match his pace, but my legs by that point were getting really tight especially my calves. I guess that's what happens from not running except 2-3.1 miles on the weekends a week for six months. I did speed up slightly and then tried kicking it in at the finish, but didn't have enough to make up the 9 seconds the winner put on me. Overall though I can't complain at all. My legs felt strong and I beat my time from last year by 2 minutes. At this time I'm debating not doing the next couple of races due to this knee not getting any better and I want to get well soon so as to get my off-season started and some quality base training in. I'll keep you posted.
2009 - 56:23 (6:04/mile) and 3rd overall
2010 - 54:20 (5:50/mile) and 2nd overall
No comments:
Post a Comment