The run was tough. I tried to take it easy at the start and ignore the fast high school and college kids who make up about half the field, but still went out faster than I intended. I felt decent at the start, though I know I got my HR up faster than I should have. The first mile was 9:48 - it felt ok but really tough since I knew I was working at Z4-5. It helps that I know the park well and knew just how to handle the big hill at the end of Rosedale Dam. There was a group of women running behind me that I pegged at being in my age group, so I was motivated/desperate to stay ahead of them. This became my main motivating factor as things got tougher. I had a hard time at the halfway water stop, running behind the barn and Hunt House - I had to slow down to go over the tiny stream because it was hard to focus on my foot placement. I managed to run all the way up the big hill even though I was losing ground to those women. At that point, I started to feel like I was at my limit. I still kept putting one foot in front of the other, but I lost any hope of accelerating. The downhill back to Rosedale Dam was a relief, but I knew the course well enough not to get excited, since it's still a longer stretch than it seems. I ran alongside one guy down the hill who was trying to be encouraging and hoping for a finish under 30 (my watch told me it wasn't going to happen, but I didn't want to discourage him). As we got close to the right turn onto the grass and to the finish, I was able to accelerate just a little (for fear of the ladies behind catching me), and just a little more down the finishing chute, though I started feeling weak and nauseous as I turned the final corner. When I came to a stop, my hands were shaking so that I had trouble tearing the slip off my bib and I actually thought I was going to throw up for a few moments. I stopped with my hands on my knees and then started to walk, since I knew that would help more. Jeff came up to me and walked alongside and after a minute or two I was able to regain my composure and chat. It turns out that I achieved a new max HR of 187 at the finish, so that explains that.

Afterward I looked up the dew point, which was 71. That means the conditions were pretty rough (and plenty of people were complaining/talking about that at the finish). Given that, my run was actually pretty good. I'm happier about my effort now than before I learned that.

Walked around with Jeff and waited for awards.


As mentioned above, the dew point. The humid conditions were a definite drag. I'm very pleased that I managed to keep running in such conditions at such a high HR for the duration of the race. I felt like my legs were strong at the end, too.


A nice, low-maintenance local race.