This was a race I have been targeting for a while. I was very happy with an unexpected PR in April and thought I could pretty easily better that mark to around 1:35 with such a fast course. I knew the hardest part of this race would be dealing with the heat, something that was non-existent during the SLO half. Another thing I was unsure about was setting my pace. The first 6 miles were a steady decline before leveling off the last 7. I figured it would be best to put some time in the bank for the last 7.
My first few miles seemed effortless and I was running 6:30ish/mile. Pretty fast. I dialed it in a bit but didn't feel like I was putting out too much effort. At the 10k mark I clocked around 42:30, a good 25 seconds faster than my best 10k race. That was right around 6:50ish pace. I had to pace 7:14/mile over the whole course so I thought I was good to go.
After the first 6 miles we left the shade of the mountains and I was left with the heat of the road with no shade. This is where I start to fall apart. It's hotter than balls. I am dumping water over my head every station but isn't helping much. I slowly begin to wither. To make a long story short because it's painful to think about, I start running about 15 seconds slower each mile until miles 12 and 13. I told myself to just run 8 minute miles at the end and I would still PR. By the time those last miles came though I was in the clear cut "I don't give an eff" mode. I just wanted to be done. Mile 12 is 9:10 and mile 13 is 9:55. I limp across the line at 1:40:46 over a minute off my PR.
This is one of those races I put in the category of a learning experience. Putting "time in the bank" just doesn't work for me. When I hit the wall I hit it hard (and often). Running smart is just better than running hard.
Also when it comes down to it, doing all my training at 5AM in the morning when the weather is an overcast 50 degrees might be perfect during training, but it doesn't help when the race conditions are not the same. If I want to do better in races I need to find some warmer conditions to train.
Right now I really don't have a desire to do another race until the fall. I put in a lot of time and effort into these races this spring I just look forward to taking it easy. I told my wife I will run with her in the City to Sea half marathon in October and that will be a perfect opportunity to spend time with her while she trains and enjoy that race instead of going all out.
