4 Mile Race, > 1K finishers, Sat night, downtown Cleveland, about 82/68 at start time
Given how hard I went early in the month I didn’t decide to really race until about 20 mins before. Did a couple of easy recovery runs during the week, but was still a little tight after really pushing myself hard. Few rounds of lunges, calf raises, high steps, butt kicks, and leg swings and legs felt loose. A little tight around my ankles, but nothing that would bother me during the race.
Had to start off fast to avoid getting stuck in a bottle neck, about 200 m out the main roads open things up though. I settled in on the outside, not picking out anyone to pace off of yet. Most of the first mile is the uphill portion of a bridge over the Cuyahoga, so time wasn’t a priority either. Just settling into my pace. Mile 1, 6:16. Given how uphill it was, happy, and I started looking for a pacing target. About that time the first female passed me. About 5’4 115 and looked like someone who should be winning the race. Naturally I settled in about 2 strides behind her and enjoyed the scenery. Stayed right about there until shortly after the 2 mile mark, which I got to in 12:40. Again, very happy with the split, realistic shot at breaking 26. About a block or two after the two mile mark the race fell apart. Gas pain. Very, very bad gas. You’ve all gotten that bubble while racing before. And it’s impossible to maintain stride without feeling like you might s yourself. Got understandably very frustrated and lost touch of everyone in my pack while I battled the problem. Just going as fast as I could without feeling like I might tempt fate. Then all of a sudden about 2 ¾ mile…frrrrummmmppphhhtt. Holy lord I feel great now. So, I got going again. Just before the second bridge too. About halfway up I got my 3 mile split – 19:47. So, I lost about 45 seconds or so while my body and I argued during mile 3. Kills any shot at sub 26, but I can still set a mark to beat next year.
Picked the stride up on the way back down the hill off the bridge before turning the corner for the final ½ mile which was primarily uphill. This is when I really started blowing by people, some had been in the pack I was running with before and were scuffling to the finish. Probably passed 10-15 people over the final ½ mile, and 4 in the final 150 m. Crossed in 26:35, good for 37th overall and 8th in my age group. If I had ran sub 26, as I might have done, I would have been top 5 in age group and top 25 overall. Goal created for next year!