My goal was to beat my time from last year of 36:07, but alas, I was just not in good enough shape to pull it off. I had specifically been training for this race and also trying to lose some weight (164.6 lbs this morning), but I couldn't maintain a goal pace of 5:49 or faster per mile.
My splits, going by memory, for the first 5 miles were:
5:46 -- had some downhill, and at the time I didn't think I was pushing too hard.
5:47 -- hanging in there, but feeling the strain. Passed a few runners.
5:50 -- hanging in there, but wondering if I could really hold on. Was in 3rd place.
6:00 -- my heart rate felt high and I was struggling to get enough air. I started faltering. Was in 3rd place.
6:00 -- just hanging on. In 3rd place, but with a runner on my heels.
? -- right around the 6 mile mark, with just 0.2 miles left, the guy behind me surged past. I was struggling and couldn't seem to put together a sprint.
So, I was disappointed that I couldn't beat my time from last year, but I'm happy with the overall placement. I came in 4th overall and 1st in my 40-49 age group.
Claire walked / ran the 5K with Jennifer, but had a miserable time. She went out fast, apparently, with Jennifer leading the way, and Claire got side cramps and leg soreness. I didn't push her very hard to train for this and she only did two training runs recently, so she wasn't really ready.
It was fun seeing so many friends. I also brought along some fliers for the Coastside Running Club and at least a few people were interested enough to tear off a little tag that had our club's info.
