15K Results --
The temperature for the race was decent - 50's warming into the 60's. But the WINDS - yowza - very gusty and definitely had an impact on the run. ALSO - they weren't kidding about their claim that this is a hilly course. Definitely the hilliest race course so far in my limited racing experience. Not as hilly as home, but there was one obnoxious uphill stretch climbing a bluff along the Tennessee River that is similar to the nasty ones in my neck of the woods. Also, a couple of stretches along the Tennessee River waterfront that were really windy. In general, the course was relentlessly hilly - but usually with long, lower grade hills. Nevertheless, those long, lower grade hills can be exhausting!
My finishing time was 1:03:01, for an average pace of 6:46. I was 16th out of ~190 finishers. I won the 3rd Place award for the Male 35-39 group. That's my first racing award, which was pretty cool. Really, I was 4th in this age group, because the overall winner of the race was from my group and was ineligible for the age group award. I am sure my wife will want to prominently display the award plate with cartoon pigs and coyotes on it! I think I'll hang it up in the living room the next time she is out of the house.
This race was different as far as the competition. There were lots of fast, younger racers (late teens and early 20's), because this race was the Alabama State 15K championship. I guess the 15K championship isn't all that popular, because most of the faster contenders were from the local region. Also, for me to win an age group award with a 6:46 pace shows that the usual stiff competition in the Men's 35-39 group was not there.
Very good training race for me. I learned some things for the next one. First of all, I ate too much before the race!
Almost as much as for the marathon. And that was okay for that race, but not for this one at a faster pace. I also went out too fast. I ran the first mile in 6:16, and it started out on a long incline followed by several up and down hills. So, 6:16 was too fast on that terrain, and I never really felt like I got into "the zone" after that, in contrast to other races. My 5K split was 20:04, which was a little slower than my 5K split in the 10K I ran in Sept. '04. However, my 10K split was 41:24 (or a few secs either side of that), which beat my 10K race finish of 41:40. So I felt pretty good about that, given the terrain, winds, flub on going out too fast, and limited amount of pace training I have done so far. As a final challenge for this course, the last 0.3 miles included a long incline. That pretty much zapped my ability to gun it home and pick up a little bit of time. The course planners are sadists!!
The winner, Scott Strand, age 37, (and who wins everything around here), ran the course in 49:48. That was actually a minute slower than his winning time in this race last year - so he must have been feeling the winds too. LOL. The second finisher is 41 years old and finished in 52:03. He is taller than me, which seemed unusual for a fast runner, but is extremely thin. I would probably pick up some pace if I dropped 10 pounds or so, but my wife has already given me her thoughts on that!
I guess I will quit rambling on and on about the race. It was a well-planned, oustanding event. I was very surprised, since the community where this was held is not all that large. I will definitely run this one again next year. Now I just have to work on building some speed over the next 5 weeks before the next 15K --- again, on a hilly course -- probably worse than this one considering the finishing times from last year's racers.
Definitely no Sunday run today. I'm due for my squat workout. My legs are still fairly toasted this morning, so I will wait until later in the day to decide whether to go ahead with the weight routine or take a rest day.