Sunday, September 16, 2007

Crossroads Half Marathon Race Report

September 16th saw the 2007 running of the Crossroads Half Marathon. This is a charity run. Crossroads is an organization that offers assistance to victims of domestic violence. Hard to think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning than by raising money for this worthy cause.

The start was scheduled for 8 am and when I left the house at 7 it was already 67 degrees. The scheduled high for the day was 88 degrees. This was going to be a hot run. Hooray!

My goals for this race was to PR with anything less than 2.05:59. It is a pretty flat run but my PR came from a mostly downhill race so I had my work cut out for me. I also had been slacking on my training program.

The start was pretty subdued with the race organizer standing at the front and when the time came he said "Go!". I was near the front, in a pack of 500 runners, and only knew we were starting because the front of the group was off and running. The start was downhill and I was feeling really good. At the first mile I looked down at my trusty Garmin and was amazed to see a pace of 8.37! I knew I needed to slow down or I was in for a long day.

I backed of on the speed and set myself for a steady pace. The race course is a mix of residential streets and our local bike paths. The paths are my favorite place to run so this was familiar territory. Miles 2 through 7 were a good comfortable pace. That is if I was only going to run 7 miles. My average pace was now at 8.50. I just knew that I was going to pay for that pace at some point and really concentrated on slowing down some more.

The payment for that effort came at the 10 mile mark. I was entirely out of juice. The miles between 7 and 10 saw my average pace slowly creep past 9 minutes. And finally, I had to walk. I would walk a total of 4 times between miles 10 and 12. At 12 miles I promised myself that I could make that 1.1 miles all in one push. I lived up to that promise.

The last mile of the race follows a very beautiful tree lined residential area in downtown Fort Collins. This leads to the finish, which is in the same place as the start. I finished the race strong with a final time of 2.04:59. A new PR!

I am conflicted. I am excited about a new PR and am proud of that effort. I am also very disappointed in myself in how I ran the race. If I had shown a little more discipline in the early miles, I am convinced I would have run a better time.

So now after an earned shower, and an ice cold New Belgium Skinny Dip Beer, I have a date with my easy chair and a day of football. Go Broncos!!

10 comments:

Maddy said...

Congratulations on your new PR!

Don't be disappointed with your performance. Consider it a learning experience. And try to remember this feeling next time you start pushing the pace early on.

I'm proud of you!

ShirleyPerly said...

Yes, congrats on that PR!

Even when I have run a good race I sometimes feel disappointed with something about it, something that I might have done better. There's always a next time :-)

Petraruns said...

This is fantastic! Don't give yourself a hard time! Pacing is SO hard in a race - the adrenalin just makes you feel great - experience will help you get better (but it remains a tricky beast). Keep it up!

Kevin said...

Great Race Cory!! And it sounds like you may have learned a little something during it to. All the better! Hang in.

CewTwo said...

I have to admit that I went to the end of your blog entry first to see if you had set your new PR! Great!

Pacing is an interesting effect that can only really be applied in competition. I really tried to that last time I competed. I, too, set a new PR but boned it on the pacing.

I don't feel quite so guilty about my walking in the last one.

Good thing to set a PR. If only I could run as fast you are!

Anonymous said...

Good job on the PR! Don't be disappointed. I too have the same problem and have to FORCE myself to "conserve, conserve , conserve" early on. No less, you PR'ed, and on a harder course. Way to go!

Irish Blue said...

A new PR, that's great! You've earned some time in the recliner...enjoy.

MarathonChris said...

Way to go and congrats on the PR!!!

lizzie lee said...

Don't be hard at yourself. Don't be disappointed in how you ran the race.
You did awesome. Great pace. Put that medal on!!!

Congratulations and Keep Running!!!

Anonymous said...

OK Cory, it's been awhile...where ya at? How are plans shaping up for Pheddipp? :)