Saturday, September 20, 2008

Al's Run Recap

A lot of runners might want to know what the best way is to guarantee a personal best at an upcoming race. My advice? Run a distance you've never raced before. :)

I made it to the start area with plenty of time and went through the usual warm-up routine (jog, stretch, stride, jog, bathroom). The race started at 10:30 a.m., and it was unseasonably warm. Not uncomfortable like Twin Cities last year, but definitely warmer than ideal.

The first mile had a couple of downhill stretches. That and start-line adrenaline resulted in a much faster split (about 7:20) than was necessary. By the middle of mile two, my heart rate was already in the low 180s, so I did my best to ease up while still keeping the pace under eight minutes a mile.

Miles three and four were okay. Thanks to the heat, I was really feeling it during mile five. I didn't have much of a finishing kick, but I managed to finish with a respectable chip time of 38:51. My mom was waiting for me at the finish -- I greatly appreciated her cheers.

I could tell from my forerunner that was course measured a tiny bit long -- I had it at 5.10 miles. This was supposed to be an 8K (4.97 miles). But, it's the same course for everyone, so it's no big deal.

Approximate mile splits: 7:25, 8:02, 7:47, 8:00, 7:37

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