Leesburg 20K - Run20k

i started with tom and hoped to hang on as long as i could. i thought that if i could hang until the halfway point i might be able to keep up on the return downhills. he is faster than me though, and i did a 70+ mile ride the day before.

we went out faster than expected, but it was going ok. we passed another fast runner (theo) from running group and kept pushing. then we started to hit the hills and i had to ease off a little. tom is so steady on the climbs, but i run downhill fast so i thought i could drop a little and then catch him after the rt. 9 climb. he was having an awesome day though and that's the last i would see of him. i was on the vergoe of blowing up and couldn't push it any further. it would be a long walk back from there.

i held off theo until after the turn around and jumped on his heels when he came by. i was able to recover slightly. eventually, a group consisting of one guy and 2 cute chicks in short shorts came by us like we were standing still. they must have put up a serious negative split. i decided to jump on and see if i had a second wind. i made it less than a mile before i had to ease off, but at least i tried and it was a nice diversion.

i got back to theo, but we got to the rt 9. overpass and i couldn't hang on that hill. from there on it was pretty much survival. i tried not to lose any more spots, so i kept pushing, but didn't try to catch anyone in front. luckily it was mostly downhill.

i saw k and just after the turn and sprinted to the line. it felt great to be done, but i was disappointed that we couldn't add .7 miles. it would have been a 7+ minute half marathon pr! hell yeah.

probably nnot start with tom, but i wanted to do a run w/ him so it was worth a shot. if i paced better by staying with theo from start to finish, i probably could have hung and finished with him.

cheered on the other finishers.


sat. long ride and poor pacing.


great local race. good finish, disposable chips, and convenient.
the course is pretty crowded though.