The Force of July

In similar fashion to June, I'll go over what I've run this month so far and give a little preview on what's coming up.

Firecracker 5K - Thomaston, ME - Saturday, 7/3
Overall Time:  20:29
Overall Place:  9th
Age Group Place:  2nd
Pace per Mile:  6:36
Splits (half):  10:05/10:24

Overall I didn't feel too bad in this race though I ran the first mile much harder than I wanted.  Based on roughly where mile 1 was, I was at about 5:50-5:55 pace which knocked me down in the second half of the run.  Though cooler than Sunday, the temperature shot up at least 10 degrees when the sun came out about 7:30 AM.

L.L. Bean 10K - Freeport, ME - Sunday, 7/4
Overall Time:  44:32
Overall Place:  135th
Age Group Place:  15th
Pace Per Mile:  7:09
Splits (per mile):  6:42, 6:52, 7:08, 7:23, 7:37, 7:13, 1:37

I definitely did not feel 100% going into this race, and the harsh weather made things a lot worse for me.  After the first two miles, it felt like someone threw themselves on my shoders and my legs felt stiff.  By mile 4 it was a losing battle to keep myself under 7 minute pace.  I struggled through 5 miles and pushed with as much effort as I could in the last part of the race.  I crossed the line exhausted as if I had run in 90 degree heat.  Surprisingly, I found out later that I wasn't dehydrated.  It just seemed like this weekend was just not my weekend to run well.


With this upcoming weekend off from any races, I should be able to get rested and restored for what's ahead:

Clam Festival 5-miler - Yarmouth, ME - Saturday, June 17
Yarmouth Town Hall, 8AM

This is a big July race in Maine, probably bigger than the LL Bean 10K.  It's also pretty much right where I live, which makes travel to this very easy.  This is my first time running this but I have a feeling that this race will be a good one for me.

Fort Knox Bay Festival 5K - Bucksport, ME - Saturday, June 24
Verso Paper Fitness Center, 8AM

I set a 5K personal record on this course in 2008 - 19:12 - which stood until the Unity Spring race this year.  Hopefully with some discipline and a little luck weather-wise I can hit around the 19-minute mark again and possibly approach the 18:52 mark I set in April.


Not a lot left for this month but it's all building for the Beach to Beacon which will open up August's race month for me.  Let's hope the heat stays down just a little bit for these races.