Prerace unknowns: unfamiliar course; starting temp 75 but how fast
would it rise to the forecast 90; how fit am I anyway?
Guess: 1:33 - 1:36. OK, let's aim for 1:33, or ~7:05 pace. I'm OK
with erring on the aggresive side today, as my larger 2005 goal
(sub-1:30) ain't happening yet, so a slightly quick start which may
cost me 30-60 sec doesn't jeopardize any specific goal.
I felt pretty good on 2 days rest but 7:05 sounded iffy, and in fact I
couldn't quite maintain it. Splits:
14:10 (2 mi, missed mile 1)
6:47 (must've been downhill; not pushing here)
7:19
7:20
7:15
7:07
7:11
7:09
7:26
7:33
7:16
8:03 (1.1 mi, let's say 7:23 & :40)
-----
1:34:36
Course had frequent small hills, certainly more than the Brooklyn
course, maybe a bit more than Queens. Didn't heat up too much until I
was heading for the subway 2.5 hrs after the start.
Nobody has ever spoken of the Bronx course with enthusiasm, and I won't
be the first. It's a bland and boring series of out & backs.
Moderate discomfort, mile 4-5 maybe, in my back - QL I'm pretty sure -
when the road's crown forced me to run with right foot higher than left
for an extended stretch. Note to self: get serious about core strength
and flexibility, for running and for real life.
Other than that, I felt I ran a decent race despite slightly positive
splits. Passed more than I got passed in just about every mile, though
there are always a few who fly past me in the last .1. Always figure
they're faster runners who should've beaten me by more if they'd laid
it all on the line the whole race. Felt I ran the right efforts on
downs/ups/flats too this time, which generally has me passing on the
downs and yielding just a bit of ground on the ups.
In the end the limit on my pace seemed simply that my legs tired. As
my splits got slightly slower, my effort slightly increased throughout
until I was really pushing my tired sore muscles those last few miles.
If I'd had a million bucks on the line, I might have been able to shave
a bit of time off via more conservative pacing but not 10 seconds via
additional effort.
Passed a whole lot of GNY runners the first couple miles - those
singlets really do stand out - and none that I passed caught back up.
Most notably I smoked Glover and enjoyed seeing him plodding toward me
at each turnaround. ;-) Still, 15 of Donovan's teammates finished
ahead of me including the F winner, phenom Michelle Bleakley.
Donovan: around mile 9 I was wondering, is there a special contingent
of your team only for those who live in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, or
Staten Island? OB-GNY?
- - -
This was the third of five 1/2 M's in Grand Prix series.
Brooklyn: 1:39:12 489/1959 M, 217/743 M3039 (on little 2005 training)
Queens: 1:36:14 started 10:00 late so places were off
Bronx: 1:34:36 234/1956 M, 109/684 M3039
Bronx times were about a minute slower than Queens, so my time today's
closer to the 3:00 effective improvement I seeked.
queens bronx
#1 male 1:09:29 1:10:21
100 male 1:26:33 1:27:55
200 male 1:32:39 1:33:34