Race Report Outback 1/2 Marathon 2010

Another of the “fall Series” of road running races that I do every year.

I have never run so hard… hurt so much…

Splits:
6:47
6:47
7:12
7:06
7:26
7:28
7:15
7:28
7:33
7:41
7:38
7:50
7:57

As the splits above show I was fighting a losing battle with 7:15s… it just was not my day… started out too fast… it was too hot…

Simply put… I’m just not that fast yet.

All that said… I had fun… enjoyed testing myself… hanging out with friends and family

morning run

I like running through the quiet darkness with you…
like we are the only two souls stirring in the world…
the morning is ours… and we belong to each other…
hearts, arms, legs, and breath in rhythm…
side by side… souls touching

Pumpkin run 10 miler

I had a chance to run one of my favorite races once again on Halloween Sunday.

History...

2004: 1:28:01 – 8:48 pace
2006: 1:28:05 – 8:48 pace
2008: 1:23:24 – 8:20 pace (broke a 7 year old PR)
2009: 1:17:20 – 7:45 pace (another PR)

So… this race has been a good barometer of fitness… and progress over the years… and is a fun race to boot… who wouldn’t want to run through a cemetery on Halloween?



I’ve had a good year of running.. I’m down another 9 lbs or so in the past year… so I should be ready to kick it up a notch…. Only I didn’t really feel that…

Three 10+ mile running days in the week leading up to the race and a 2.5 hour ride the day before where I had worked pretty hard left my legs feeling a little less than fresh.

The race starts on a narrow road… so I did my best to elbow our way pretty close to the front… with all of the folks in costume, walkers, strollers etc… it was perhaps my smartest move of the day.
Aye carrumba… a 6:43 for the 1^st mile was not, however…

From that point I was simply hanging on and willing myself forward… nothing smooth… or powerful… pretty or graceful. As people passed me I simply tried to hang with them as long as possible… yet watched my pace slip to 7:10, then 7:15, into the 7:20s and finally on mile 9 a 7:30… finally HTFU to a 7:04 for the last mile

Final time of 1:12 and some change.






Now Judi's race... that's another story...

She started out fast...

Won her age group in the 5K










Then realized she had missed the turn for the 10 mile race (see her running back towards the turn)








in the end she got 3rd place in her AG in the 10 miler but...

Got the wrong plaque... appropriately perhaps

But... we had fun