Overall Pace: 6:37
Overall finish: 123rd (111th among men, 15th among ages 30-34)
Mile splits: 6:37, 6:43, 6:55, 6:12
Mile One: The first mile is not only a great gauge for how you'll feel in the rest of the race, it's also a test of discipline. Many runners will go out too fast, and with the first 1/2 mile plus being downhill, that makes it even more difficult to keep a conservative pace. After shrugging myself from the knot of runners on Franklin street, I was able to get into a comfortable stride that I could use for the duration of the race. The hill began once I turned off commercial street but as the case for all my runs this week, my legs felt great and I had an abundance of energy.Mile Two: About half-way up the series of streets, I crossed mile 1 with a very respectable time. My energy was still great even after scaling the hill and returning to congress street. I used the down up to and through mile 3 to coast and keep my reserves until I could push for everything I got at the end.
Mile Three: It was about this time that I started to feel a little fatigue in my legs. It didn't bog me down too much, but the uphill felt a lot more difficult this time. As I approached mile four, I did worry a bit about if I was going to wear down before I got to the final stretch. It's been an all-too-familiar theme with my 5K's this year.
Mile four: About half way up Free St, I suddenly had that second wind kick in. I passed a pocket of 10-15 runners while surging with adrenaline, and I could feel that tiredness wash away under the excitement of being able to pull off a good time. I had more power than I thought, and I wasn't going to waste it. Getting to the top and turning at Congress street once again was a great feeling. From that point I slowly picked up speed until I was barreling through the final two turns at One City Center.
Post-race: Even as good as I did, I felt that I did not put all my energy and effort on the line - I felt like I had run a race, but it felt like I still had a little more to expend before I had that "on empty" feeling that overtakes me with I slow down. So in a way, I ran this one fairly conservatively, but it was a great barometer for how my speed was in the short races to this point. The 6:12 pace on the last mile was an incredible accomplishment for me - not only have I had difficulty reaching that pace in any road race this year, I also managed to achieve this on the final mile, meaning that I kept enough in the tank to burn off at the end.
This is probably the final race before the Epic Finale 5K in Bangor at the end of December. The Freeport 5K in early December comes up too close to my dance show to try and risk it. I feel good about where I am, though. At least I can take that to the turkey feast with me today...
...along with the Boston cream pie I just made and assembled. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
