I was really excited for this race since the weather looked unseasonably cool for mid April in the South. Plus I had been doing lots of speed work lately on Tuesdays with the track folks and Thursdays with the Panorama 10 mile tempo folks. I was nearly to the end of my marathon taper and my legs were feeling fresh with lots of spring in my step.
I have been working very, very hard lately and focused on running. I had totaled 300+ miles in March which is a testament to the diligence I have put forth to take my running to the next level. I had also done a fast (for me) 10 mile tempo run with Riddle, Taylor and Caitlin on Thursday at 6:30+ pace. This really drained me, and I barely hung on, but these guys really pulled me along. Thanks to them for this! These runs are really paying off.
On the morning of the race, I had watched a few Prefontaine videos on YouTube which inspired me to run strong and not to quit. This is a challenging course, with rolling hills throughout the course. Normally I would start out slowly, and then get stronger. But after watching the videos, I had the bug to be more of a front runner and go out hard and hold on.
Within the first 200 meters, the finishing order had already been determined. The only question is how much would separate each runner at the top. Despite the difficulty of the first mile being uphill, I chased David Purinton closely and clocked a (3:00+2:54) = 5:54 mile. I had done what I was trying to do and went out hard. I attempted a foolish pass of David in a short downhill section before the Eustis Hill, not in an attempt to stay ahead, but to take advantage of a fast downhill and an opportunity to stretch out my legs.
Mile 2 was again fast (2:48+2:57)=5:45 with lots of downhill. Plus I had a chance to run past my support team, the Shermans on Randolph. I stayed close to David and held a lead on Dink and Caitlin.
Mile 3 is where I knew I would struggle. This mile involves covering both up hill sin the same mile, when runners have to start the repeat of the first loop. The pace slowed for everyone and the game was just not to fall off proportionately. My splits where (2:53+3:07)=6:00, but I did know that after this mile, much of the course was downhill and I could make up some time.
Mile 4 had quite a few turns and I had an opportunity to check out my positioning. Somehow I was widening the margin on the competition. Despite this, I wasn't sure how much I would have left in the tank at the end of this race and that the competition has powerful kicks and could easily narrow the gap if I slowed. My mile 4 splits where (3:01+2:53)=5:54
The last 0.97 miles of this 8k were mostly downhill with a slight rise before a long slopping finish. I thought that I would just be hanging on, but I actually was able to run just as strong as I did early. My splits were (2:52+2:53)=5:44 for a finishing time of 29:22. I ended up loosing to David by 13 seconds as he was able to kick it in a little in the end.
Place Name Time
1 Jason Reneau 27:28
2 Donald Bowman 28:47
3 David Purinton 29:10
4 Eric Charette 29:23
5 Dink Taylor 30:10
6 Caitlin Heider 30:25
So in the end I was able to better my 8k PR by 1:17 over last year. I was able to increase my positioning from 13th in this race last year to 4th this year. I was extremely overjoyed by this race and how I was able to find another level to my running through training.
But what really made me happy was to watch John Peugeot finish this race strong. I have been loosely coaching John since January for the Nashville Half Marathon and this was his break-out race. He ran 2 minutes faster than our projections and dropped a sub 6 pace final stretch. I am really proud of him and it makes me feel good that I have been able to do what I love; pass along some of what I have learned in running to others and enrich their lives and training with what others have taught me.
Many others had great PR days as well. I know that Tom Smith PR'd for one and that Caitlin had a great run also.