Today I had the annual Al's Run, which I have ran for the past 4 years. I spent some time last night filling out the race prep sheet in the Believe Training Journal. In there I wrote the following goals:
1. Pace myself in the first one-two miles. I always GO OUT TOO FAST in this race. The crowd and the downhill get too exciting. (Long story short - I did not meet this goal.)
2. Try to do a progression run, or a steady state. No positive split. (Long story short - I did not meet this goal.)
3. 6:30 avg pace is the goal. If shit hits the fan, try to make it a tempo run (6:44 pace). (Long story short - my avg pace was 6:30! BAM!)
The race start is 10:30 AM which is late. Like last year, it was a hot one. As we were driving to the race at 9, the car temperature gauge indicated it was 77 degrees.
I had a great week of sleep and outside of the 2x3mi speed workout I did on Tuesday, my runs on Wed, Thurs, Fri were all easy paced. I did try something new - the sample of Picky Bars oatmeal I received with my Picky Bars shipment this month. It didn't seem too out of the norm so I ate it. (Side note: DELICIOUS.) I drank too much coffee and not enough water.
We did our usual park in the middle of the start and finish area and walk. I earned a fundraising prize so I ran to the far end of the start area for a warm up to claim it and I realized that I didn't have any timing strip on my bib. I stopped by the registration tent and they gave me a timing chip strip. Phew! Glad I realized that!
This race allows you to get an "elite" number if you think your finishing time will be under 35 minutes, which is generous. Because of this, I always get an elite number. Hey - it's the only race where I can claim to be an elite - I'm going to take it!
I did a porta potty stop and grabbed a cup of water from the volunteer table. My mouth was so dry. Upon reading my race recaps from previous years, this is a common theme. I am terrible at hydration.
I made my way to the starting line. I opted to wear my new Oiselle ombre crop and a pair of Oiselle distance shorts, along with my Boco Gear visor and Goodr sunglasses with my Adidas Ultraboost shoes. I felt these were great choices.
The gun went off and I felt like I was holding back while running that first mile so I didn't bother checking my pace, which, of course, when one of your goals and tendencies is that you start this race too fast, was a poor choice. My first mile was 6:04. YIKES.
I approached the first aid station and dumped a cup of water on my head. I really wanted to drink it. My mouth was DRY. I reigned it in on mile 2 which came in on my Garmin at 6:36. A little slow but closer to goal pace than the first mile.
We then got to go down a big hill and round a corner onto Lake Shore Drive. I hate this part of the race. It seems to go on forever and the sun just beats down on you. In my race-day plan, I wrote down "focus on lake stretch". I was so determined to just keep running. Stay Strong. Smile. Don't let that stroller-pushing dad beat you. Mile 3 beeped in at 6:29. Phew. Just keep going.
I have felt, in years past, totally spent by mile 4 in this race. I was happy that although I was hot and thirsty at mile 4, I didn't feel totally done. Pace beeped in at 6:38. Another slow one. Time to pick it up.
JUST KEEPING GOING. Get to the end of Lake Shore Drive. Turn on Clybourn.
YES.
Ok, checked the watch and was at 4.5 miles. Thinking, "I can eek out another 0.5 miles". Pretend you are chasing that bus.
I rounded the corner and saw the finish clock just turn over to 32:00. Woah! I could maybe pull this off. I tried to go as fast as I could, and crossed the finish in 32:18, which is 6 seconds shy of my PR.
My official pace was 6:30 on the money. YEAH!
My Garmin had this a little over 5 miles, so my time was 6:26 avg on there. Mile splits were 6:04, 6:36, 6:29, 6:38, 6:23.
My finish was good for #1 in my age group, #6 female, #53 overall (and I beat stroller-pushing dad - phew!). The leading woman was 31:16 or 6:17 avg pace.
I have to think that if it were not 82 degrees and sunny during this race, I would have been faster. Another highlight - last year I ran a 32:50 and weeks later had a half marathon PR. Let's hope that trend holds this year too!
I was curious about my history with this race so I looked back. I haven't come very far in 8K land in 4 years, AND I haven't lost very much either.
2014 32:12 2nd place AG, 13 woman, 105 total (6:29 avg)
2015 32:17 2nd place AG, 9 woman, 87 total (6:30 avg)
2016 32:50 1st place AG, 5 woman, 58 total (6:36 avg)
2017 32:18 1st place, AG, 6 woman, 53 total (6:30 avg)
In other news, my mom who is self-proclaims she is #notarunner broke an hour in the race! Woohoo!
Wow!! This is amazing. Congratulations! It's clear that all the hard work you are doing in your training is really paying off. You keep getting faster and faster.
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