Today was a good day of racing. Despite hardly being able to walk on Monday, my calf held in there (and didn’t bother me at all, in fact) following three days off in a row. My original goal for the race was 1:30, which would be the equivalent of a 3:10 marathon (my goal), but then I realized that simply didn’t make any sense to tax my body so much in a training race. Instead, I decided to simply go at marathon (goal) pace, 7:15, which would get me to the finish line in 1:35.
The race started in Rockville, wound through Maryland, and finished downtown in Bethesda. I know you want my finish time, but then you’d skip the recap:
Mile 1
Surprised by the few number of folks in front of me at the start. I guess I’m getting a bit quicker? Anyway, traffic was only an issue for a few minutes as we head down Veirs Mill Road, which dissapointingly was a bit treacherous with some serious seams and holes. I made it through… It didn’t feel like it, and in fact I was ready to see a slow time, but I crossed the marker at 6:40. Oops! That’s too fast.
Mile 2
More of the same scenery. Made a conscious effort to back off, but still came through way too fast in 6:50. I accidentally took my cup of water all over my face here, couldn’t see, wiped them off on my drenched singlet, and felt like I was running in a cloud until the finish.
Mile 3
We head in to what this race is known for, park running. Again make a conscious effort to slow down… Start getting passed like whoa (really only a handful). Lots of twists and turns… Better pace, 7:07.
Mile 4
Continue through the parks. Still getting passed by quite a few. 7:20.
Mile 5
Parks and getting passed. 7:09.
Mile 6
Parks, and now I’m beginning to pass people back. 7:01.
Mile 7
Continue the pick off, but very slowly. Only get two people in this segment. The halfway point wasn’t marked; I would have liked it to have been. Not sure I’m feeling as strong as I should at this point, but others are clearly feeling worse. 7:13.
Mile 8
More parks and slowly picking folks off. I thought I was goofy with my early pacing, but I guess I didn’t do too badly? 7:15.
Mile 9
Nothing of note. 7:16.
Mile 10
5k to go! Ridiculous when that seems like a short amount 
7:15. Four miles at perfect pace! Go me!
Mile 11
Energy really waning… I’ve now noticed that we haven’t had a water/energy station since Mile 8. That’s too big a gap this late in the race. Two cruel, cruel hills here. They really took a lot out of me, but as usual I’m a bit stronger at hills than other. 7:27… Uh-oh.
Mile 12
Right as I reach the marker the 7:00 to 7:15 pace group passes me. I think about sticking with them, but that thought dies after a minute or two. We’re on a slight uphill all the way to the finish now (joy). 7:23. Come on…
Mile 13 (and .1)
Run isolated with one other guy this entire mile. Have a chat with him and at the end of the mile I tell him I’ve got nothing left, but I’m going for it. My kick is likely miserable, but I think he stayed behind me. Little wave to the family at the finish (thanks for coming!) and it’s over. 7:23 pace for the 1.1.
Total? 1:34:10 (or :12 if you go by their clock)… Quite an improvement over last year’s 1:43:18, especially considering it wasn’t a 100% effort. Unfortunately, I’m not so sure about doubling that effort in a month and a half for the big race, but I’m not yet ready to make that decision. On the bright side, I doubt it’ll be a 95 degree day with ridiculous humidity in late October. The heat didn’t have much effect as we were in shade most of the time, but the humidity was absolutely killer. I figure that’ll be worth at least 5% effort/time/whatever.
Definitely a race I will run again considering I only had one or two minor gripes; if you were an organizer or volunteer, thank you!
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