I did not train for this distance at all. In the past couple months I have been running maybe two 10K sessions per week, so my goal was to use this as a training run of sorts. I wanted to do 7:00 miles, which is very conservative. Unfortunately I did the first mile in 6:05. I don't know what I was thinking. I got on the back end of the front group when the field split in the first mile, so I didn't want to slow down and get dropped. After a few miles I had no choice though. We started hitting some hills, and for some reason I suck at them. Every time I'd start climbing one or two or three people would dash by me like I was standing still. My legs were toasted about halfway through the race too, because I forgot to train them.

My pace progressively dropped throughout the race, until about the 8 mile mark. At that point I caught a bit of a second wind. Actually, there was a group 200 meters behind me, and I didn't want them to catch me. This part of the course was flat, so I turned on the jets. I caught 3 people who had passed me, and then I was going after a 4th guy with about 200 yards to go. He heard me coming and sped up a lot, and so I had to bust out a sprint on him. We were neck and neck the whole way, but then I managed to beat him by a foot or so. Photo finishes are fun.

Splits:
Mile 1: 6:05
Mile 2: 6:22
Mile 3 + 0.1: 7:13 (19:41 5K)
Mile 4 - 0.1: 5:34
Mile 5: 6:48
Mile 6: 7:01 (finally hit my goal pace!)
Mile 7: 7:02 (40:35 10K)
Mile 8: 7:10
Mile 9: 6:27
Last 0.3: 1:49

Start slower. I have a big running ego I guess.

I sorta started to jog and then decided against it, because there was food in my sights. I did get a little ART on my hammies though.


This was a case of just not having enough leg strength for a 15K, so I need to train more. But dang, I have another 15K next weekend...


This course is challenging because it is hilly and there are few aid stations. The race is the best deal in town though. $13-$17 registration, a free runner's headband (because I have 1000 too many race t-shirts, thank you), and enough sponsors that you're basically guaranteed a door prize. Oh, and the location at Warner park means that parking spots and restrooms are abundant. You can show up 15 minutes before the race without any worries.