The first mile felt lousy. I felt like I had a very slow time and was pretty winded. When I checked my time, I had done the first uphill mile in 11:15. My goal pace for the race was 12:00 per mile, so I was pretty happy with the results. I'm not sure why I get so out of breath the early portions of my run (could it the the two packs a day for 20 years???) Anyway, after I settled down, I ran pretty well. I ended up with at 11.9/mile pace, which was very slightly better than my 12/mile goal.

I tried timing a gel pack just before the stair climb just to give me a little extra boost, but I still ran out of steam the last 1/4 of the climb. Overall, I think I just need to get more miles under my belt. It's slowly getting easier and my times are improving. Patience grasshopper......

Walked around the park until I cooled down a bit. Drank a couple of bottles of water and ate a couple of fig newtons. Did a moderate stretch before leaving.


My experience.


Fun race, but triathlons are lots more fun!