I did NOT want to race today. I have just been tired and unmotivated ever since Gasparilla. I ran 4 miles on Monday and that's it. I just didn't have any interest this week. Then, last night I went out for pizza with the family and then came home to lay in bed and read till about 10:30 pm.
Then... Mark P. showed up, and Tatoo Mike. Mike was wanting to attempt a negative split race which sounded very reasonable to me (especially the part about going out easy!). Mark said he would take us out to the first 5K and then begin dropping down to his goal pace. Once we got started we were in the 7:05 range pretty quickly. The weather was in the low 40's so it just felt comfortable. I began to question the negative split idea at about mile 6. Had it not been for Mike running so consistently next to me I don't think I would have hung on.
Two major motivators:
- I could still see Mark P in the distance. My goal was to see how long/late into the race I could still keep him in my sight.
- Eudair showed up at about mile 9. She paced us but not next to us, rather about 20 yards ahead of us. She looked so smooth and fluid I just tried to mimic her tempo and ease in my mind. I really focused on keeping my breathing in check so as not to redline. Following her in made a big difference.
The last two miles were tough! I just tried to stay focused on cadence and looking for the finish line.
Splits are:
- 7:17
- 7:11
- 7:06
- 7:01
- 7:02
- 7:04
- 7:07
- 7:05
- 7:18
- 7:08
- 7:07
- 7:12
- 7:13
- 6:28 (last .21)
Time: 8:00 am Total Time: 1:34:13 (7:08 avg)
| 