I didn't really want to race this, because I'm "tapering" for Boston (it's not really tapering because I was never training in the first place). So this would be a tempo workout that would benefit me later in the summer. My goal was 7:30/mile.

It was also my first taste of racing in Wiscansan. Clearly, this is a triathlon state, because most of the people looked like they were ready for an Ironman. I guess spandex is the new short shorts because I didn't see any of the archetypal runner types out there.

When the race started, none of these tri-geeks were moving very fast, so I was like "that's right, triathletes can't run, suckas!" and was running somewhere in the top 10 for the first few miles. A pack formed behind me. Normally I would try to run away from them, but I didn't want to get myself caught up in a race or anything today, so I let them stay. I wound up paying for it, because at about mile 4 allll the people in the pack suddenly flew by me. They were talking to each other, so I thought maybe they were a team or something. I felt used. Then a couple minutes later another pack creeped up to me, stayed there for a little while, and then zipped away. Then another one. Turns out some triathletes CAN run.

I didn't think I would see any of these people again, so I decided to settle in and work on having a good workout solo. I moved off the bike path and ran on the dirt, because it was softer (although slower). No sense in beating up my legs too bad, right? I thought the turnaround would be about 6.5 miles into the race, so according to my clock I was farrr from a PR. So that gave me more reason to just run easy.

Well, it turns out the turnaround was at 7 miles, so just like that I was back near my PR pace. That was kinda weird. So, I started pushing the pace a little bit. I still ran on the grass, though. There was a pack stalking me the whole way back, but fortunately I held them off. Even in the last couple miles I refused to go all-out...once I made sure the pack wouldn't catch me, of course. I missed my PR by 14 seconds. That bothered me for about a minute, because I surely could have hit it if I just stayed on the bike path. But then it stopped bothering me, because I can break my PR whenever I feel like it later. The most important thing was that I didn't get hurt in my first race of the season. Plus didn't I say something about 7:30/mile before?

Here are some lap times.

Miles 1, 2: 12:51
Mile 3: 6:15
Mile 4: 5:20 (yeah right)
Miles 5, 6, 7: 24:04
Mile 8, 9, 10: 23:24
Mile 11: 5:16
Mile 12: 6:29
Mile 13: 6:28 (I think the extra 0.1 is here too)


Nothing.

Jogged and stretched. Cheered on some of the runners coming in.


I forgot to train. My bad.


You get a lot for your money in this race. For $25 (or $30) you get the half marathon, a T-shirt, and refreshments and beer at the finish line. And a massage. You can hide from the elements indoors before the race too. So it's not too bad at all. Shoot, most 5K's cost that much these days.

The one thing that might bother lots of people is that there aren't many aid stations out there. If you need to eat and drink a lot, you'd better bring the fanny pack.