The day started off a bit rainy and cold. I drove to the race with a friend Pat who races for one of the local clubs and is fast, I mean...wicked fast. We picked up our packets and did a quick warm-up jog with his team. Everything felt loose and normal, but as expected, the jog shook a few things up and I had to find a quiet spot in the woods to take reprieve.
After the warm-up, the weather improved a bit and I stripped down to my shorts and running singlet and tossed my planned hat and gloves into the car. I still had a few minutes so I did some stretches and a few strides before heading over to the starting line.
With 2000 people at this race, there was not a lot of room on the two lane road they cram everyone on to start. I nestled into a spot near the front where people looked like they would be running about my pace (judging by appearances...I know). The gun went off and I settled into a nice pack with a few others that were running about 6:20 pace, which if held would yield a sub-60 race.
We went through mile 1 at 6:25 and I was confident that I had not started too hard. I knew there would be people ahead of me slowing down in the last few uphill miles, so I wanted to leave them out there as bait so I could pick them off one by one in the last 5k.
Mile 2 was 6:31 due to a few rolling hills that were in the way but I was still feeling strong. Shortly before the 5k mark I saw a friend Chris up ahead who was in taper mode for Ironman Arizona. I pushed a bit to catch up to him and we chatted for a few minutes about the current race and his big race the following week...all while running 6:20 pace (oh, we're just soooo fast.) Anyway, he wanted to stay in control and not ruin his legs so he backed off a bit and I kept pushing ahead.
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| Chris and I at 2.5mi |
I went through Mile 3 at 6:23 pace and hit the 5k at 20:23 (6:33/mi due to the delay from the gun). Mile 4 was mostly downhill and I let my legs open up and gravity did the work to a 6:10 mile. Once I left Chris before the 5k, I didn't run with anyone the rest of the race. Like I predicted, people were starting to die off about 4-5mi into the race and I started to pick them off.
Mile 5 was 6:29. I backed off a bit so that I could relax before the long hills at Mile 6-7. We ran through downtown Schenectady and then came out onto Franklin street where the climbing started. Mile 6 slowed to 6:33 and then we ran up through the cemetery and I came through 10k mark at 40:48 (which is still 6:33/mi pace). Mile 7 was at 6:43 and luckily, all the climbing was done...almost.
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| Just after the 10k. |
Just over a mile to go and it was time to start reeling people in who started too fast. I saw slowing cadences, dropping heads, and lots of heel striking. My heart rate was soaring up around 182bpm and I felt like I was flying. Mile 9 went quickly at 6:20 and it was time to start kicking it in to the finish with only 0.3mi left. I passed a few more people with a few hundred meters to go and then pushed hard to the finish. I averaged 5:55/mi for the last 0.4mi and ended up negative splitting my last 5k at 20:27 for a total time of 1:00:55.
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| Finishing chute |
While I was quite a ways away from sub-60, I was still a minute faster than last year so I can't complain that much. Considering I was doing no speedwork in my training and didn't get in nearly as much volume as I wanted in the months prior (post-Ironman recovery binge...what are you going to do?) I was thrilled with how it went.
If nothing else, I have to say that the Bethlehem Tri Club running singlet was a fantastic top for the race. This was my first running race in this style shirt and I will now wear it at any race that weather permits it. DeSoto Sport makes some fantastic gear and this is just one minor piece of their triathlon/running/cycling apparel lines.
Oh, and my friend Pat had a "bad day:" and "only" ran a 55:27...right!?!...wicked fast.
