After the WU I trotted back to the back of the start line to try to find Lis to give her a good luck kiss. This was her first race and I wanted to make sure she had a great time and I wanted her to know I was supporting her. Once I found her I heard the announcement about the time and I had about a minute to get up into my start area. I was able to get my HR back up a little on the run back up to my area, nothing major for sure but it probably did help me from the start.
Once I found my spot in the corral they began the National Anthem and then we were off. There was little time at all once I got to my area. this I am sure proved beneficial to my race because my HR never hit the bottom before the start.
As the race started I tried to keep everything under control Being up toward the front, but not at the front, can be so distracting to me. All of the fasties are up there and I can allow it to get into my head that I "need" to follow them. The adrenaline of the race seems to attract me like a magnet to outrunning my fitness and having a race that may or may not be a good one. This was a similar spot that I started in last year and it seemed to be just about right.
The first mile is a net loss in elevation so it is always the fastest mile for the whole race. It would be easy to lose control of the race here because of the control required to maintain an effort that is even across the entire course. As I looked at the data after the race I didn't seem to manage the early part of the race as well as I should have. The first quarter mile was below a 6:00 pace with my fastest recorded pace at 5:23. I had a short burst of speed late in the mile that was 4:26 but that was on a fair decline and I allowed the hill to carry me downward at the faster pace.
The second and third miles are the ones that can make or break this run if not performed with some wits about you. Every year there are those that try to run the hills at a pace that is similar to what they are running the flats and they crash late and I blow by them late in the race. I took these miles at what I thought was a pace that would keep me running well late in the race. I kept myself in pain but just enough to know I wasn't relaxing.
In the second mile there was an abrupt drop in elevation for the first .10 then another flat for .10 and then elevation changes were constant for the rest of the mile. The elevation changes weren't dramatic but enough to mess with any solid pacing because I was either running uphill or downhill.
The third mile had fewer short steep climbs but it has it's own set of challenges. There are 2 sharp climbs that aren't long but they are difficult. The elevation change (according to Garmin) is about 25-30 feet occurring over about .04 miles (211 feet). These seemed to knock the wind out of me and I am not sure I was able to recover well enough to have a solid last mile. Then finally right at the end of the third mile was a third very sharp climb that changed elevation of 25-30 feet again but this time over a shorter distance of about .025 miles. This one really knocked the wind out of me.
With the final mile in front of me I was really ready for this race to be over with. My legs seemed to doing alright but I was struggling physically to the demands I had put on my body earlier on the course. The worst part about this last mile was that it is the first mile backwards. All the elevation loss I had on the way out had to be gained going back up to the finish.
The beginning of the 4th mile starts with an abrupt uphill followed by a longer, slightly less abrupt downhill. Following this there is a bit of a flat before beginning the climb back up to the finish. At the bottom of the hill leading up to the finish Mark Strasser came up behind me tapped me on the shoulder and told me to "keep going, only a half mile left." I was surprised to see him come up behind me but glad he did. He helped push me toward the finish harder than I might have done if I were by myself. With a quarter mile left I asked Mark if he was ready to kick a little and he said he'd stay with me as long as he could. I had my doubts that I would drop him. I never save enough during my races to provide a really fast finish and this would definitely NOT be an exception to that rule.
The last half mile began on a climb with Mark right next to me and we were running at a 7:23 pace at the start of the uphill. By him being there it was a psychological boost I needed to keep me from faltering mentally for this race. As the rest of the half mile would fall behind us our pace was slightly increasing. At 3.53 mile our pace was now 6:56 and we were still climbing. At 3.60 miles were at a flat and our pace was 6:43. We had a very short downhill before a final slight grade increase for the last quarter mile, our pace had quickened again to 6:20.
At 3.75 miles Mark and I picked it up again and we attempted to hurl ourselves toward the finish at what felt like a snails pace to me because I was beginning to suffer tremendously now. The final stretch seemed to be the longest part of the race. It couldn't be over soon enough! That final .25 mile appears to be at roughly a 6:15 pace. There are parts of this section that are 6:02 and others that are 6:20.
Finally!!!!! I was finished!

I would not let my mind take over my body.

After finishing as hard as Mark and I did. I grabbed some water and a banana and headed back toward Lis and Angie to finish the race walking/jogging with them. I ran easy on the way down the hill toward the cemetery entrance, encouraging other runners as they headed toward their own finish. I ran almost a mile before trying to find Lis and begin walking.


After I had the chance to think about this race and mull through my mind what might have happened, a few things come to mind.
1.) The day before this race I ran 2 miles (easy), swam 3100 (hard) and rode 21 miles (mod). I wondered if the volume I took into the race from the day before affected my ability to push that pace a little more today.
2.) Although I didn't have any problems with my foot during this race, I wonder if the time away from running and the lack of faster miles allowed me to relax a little to much. In reality I doubt this had much to do with a slower time this year.
3.) I think the most likely problem today was my mental ability to stay hard running this race. There was no time I was running any where near easy but I think I did relax a little bit on the downhills or flats for too long before pushing my effort back up some.


I love this race! There isn't much I can say about the race venue and the general atmosphere surrounding it.
The downside to the race was the awards presentation. It took to long to get them presented and by the time they got to the presentation most of the people left and weren't there to pick up the awards. One thing I did like was that they cut the ceremony short and let us grab and go. they checked to make sure it was your award but it was easy to pick up and leave.
The best thing about this race wasn't my award or my AG placement or time (especially since I was slower this year than last). My best race moment was knowing that Lis enjoyed herself and finished her first race with an almost immediate desire to sign up for another. I think she's hooked! She says she won't start running and that's fine with me. I am simply happy, very happy that she has found something to help her enjoy something fitness related and she'll have new targets and goals to go with it.

Results: http://www.veepraces.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/FtWayneGobbler2... (Pg 39)