St. Peter's 4-mile Road Race - Results

Overall time:  25:58
Pace per Mile:  6:29.5
Overall Place:  36 (out of 277)
Age Group Place: 5 (out of 17)
Male Splits:  5:51, 6:37, 6:53, 6:37

This was the first evening race (outside of the weekly Back Cove series) so I came into this not expecting too much of myself.  My body performs much differently at 7PM than it does at 7AM.  Even with that, the weather was nice enough to not be a major factor this evening.

The route claimed to be 'downhill at the start and the end' which was true, but on the course are some long, slow inclines that would cause minor problems for people who started out a little too fast. 

Mile 1 had the familiar Fore St. hill to the Eastern Promenade (a route also used by the Irish Road Rover 5K and the Duo Duel relay) in which I easily scaled.  I was kinda surprised when I crossed the first mile under 6 minutes because I thought that the hill would have slowed me a bit.  Knowing that I would pay for it later, I just kept myself at a moderate race pace as much as possible.  Mile 2 would slowly sap my strength, making mile 3 much more difficult than it should have been.  The Fore st. hill was back - this time going down - at the end of 3 miles and I used it to regain momentum and I pushed harder to get through what felt like a very long last mile.

I crossed in just under 26 minutes, so I was satisfied with that time.  There were definitely some things I would have adjusted to run better overall but it was a good race and I'll likely run this one again next year.

Head-Light: Beach 2 Beacon Results

Overall Time:  40:17
Pace per Mile:  6:29
Overall Place:  357 (out of 5,670)
Age Group Place:  29 (out of 309)

It was a cool and beautiful morning to run.  After the humid weather we've been having over the last month it was a relief to get something almost fall-like.  I had a good feeling about the race; I set my goal to beat my PR (40:30) and possibly break the 40 minute-mark.

Start Line
It's kinda funny to see such a big start-line structure out in the middle of nowhere.  I suppose it belongs in the same 'funny' category as when you see 15,000 people crammed into this part of Cape Elizabeth.  Everything seemed very well-coordinated and professional.  The 6,000 runners were herded into this extra long chute that took up the width of the road and sorted according to what the runners thought their pace would be.  I placed myself in between the 6 and 7 minute pace signs (which would later prove to be very accurate).  They started about 10 minutes late but otherwise everything was smooth right up to the starting siren.

First Mile - 6:25
I was expecting to be held up badly in this first mile but the spacing was surprisingly sufficient to get the pace I wanted early in the run.  The terrain started as a slight downhill for the first 200 meters then leveled out to a nice, open route 77.  Just before the lighthouse pillars that marked the 1st mile, I passed a group of 5 or 6 runners dressed as smurfs.  And singing the smurf theme.  I'm not here to question anyone's sanity.

Second Mile - 6:33 (12:58)
I felt that I went ever so slightly fast in the first mile so I instead tried to draft behind someone who seemed to be keeping his pace.  The road made a slow bend but otherwise kept itself straight and even.  When I approached the road that would take us off route 77 I realized that the guy in front of me was laboring a bit.  I broke off the drafting and pushed myself ahead.

Third Mile - 6:23 (19:21)
I had a lot more energy than I realized so I turned it up slightly and charged through the airwaves filled with the sounds of "Bad Romance."  (I'm not sure if that's really runner-inspiring music, but whatever floats their boats..)  There were slight elevations in the road but not enough to make any impact.  This was the mile I passed a lot of runners.

Fourth Mile - 6:37 (25:58)
This mile led us back to route 77 and past the High School to the intersection and into Fort Williams Park.  This route was also even but this was also the mile that the sun came out briefly from behind the clouds.  I caught myself slowing down a bit through the mile even though the terrain was still fairly flat.

Taken at mile 5 - photo by Maine Running Photos

Fifth Mile - 6:25 (32:23)
The rolling hills were just starting but when the sun went behind the clouds I redoubled my efforts and forged ahead.  The little dash of adrenaline got me going again and pushed myself ahead of more people and through all the twists and turns of the road.  Things were looking good after 5 - in fact I crossed the markers just 3 seconds off my personal best for 5 miles.  Very nice.

Sixth Mile - 6:46 (39:09)
This mile taught me a valuable lesson:  I'm still running a race IN MAINE.  Turn, hill, bigger turn, bigger hill, and two crazy hairpin turns chock full of people tot he point where I almost thought I had reached the finish line, only to emerge with more than a quarter mile left to go.  Lesson learned.

Final Stretch - 1:06 (40:17)
I was a touch demoralized near the end of the mile - that is, until I crossed it. I realized that even with the bad mile I still had a good shot of making a PR, but only if I stepped it up. 

Go time. 

I gradually upped the tempo as I approached the big turn to the barricades of the final few hundred yards.  One guy zoomed past me but it gave me the surge of adrenaline that I needed at the right time. 

Sprinter's kick.

I 100-meter-dashed through the final leg of the race to the finish passing 4 or 5 people in the final couple hundred feet.  I crossed the finish and let my legs gradually slow me down.  I looked at my watch and smiled.  I beat my personal best. 

Finish
It was just then that the sun came out.  Vindication.  Even the march up the hill to get water in the dehydrating sun couldn't get me down.  In a race that I didn't expect to win any prizes, I at least accomplished a personal goal.  Not a bad way to spend a cool August morning.