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May 06, 2006
Short Easy Day
There really isn't much to write about as far as today's running goes. An easy four mile shake out in the neighborhoods. Since tomorrow morning requires getting up early to go to the race, sleeping in wasn't such good idea. I didn't want to get up as early as running with the group. Anyhow, if I go out there, I'll do way more than is good for me. My solution was to get up about an hour after I would to run with the group and go on my own. It was really nice out, maybe a touch on the warm side, but it's supposed to be cooler tomorrow. I kept trying to slow down becuase I felt like I was running harder than I should have. Of course, my allergies weren't too fond of all the freshly cut grass, but that should not be a problem at all tomorrow since there is very little grass along the course.
Tomorrow will be the sixth time that I've run Broad Street. It's funny, I've run it five times before but haven't really cared too much about it most of those years. Here's my history of the race:
2001
The first time I ran it. I'd never done a 10 mile race before and didn't really know what to expect. My main goal was to run faster than my 10 mile split from the half-marathon that I'd run in March. This was a pretty easy goal since the ten mile mark in that course is after about five miles of running uphill. My secondary goal was to get under 70 minutes. Well, I ended up PR'ing for five miles in the first half of the race and then went on to break that PR on the second half. My final time was 67:45, a lot faster than I thought that I could run.
2002
This year, I knew what I was doing, but had run a marathon in March instead of a half marathon. I also went with the girl with whom I'd been training for almost a year. The weather was perfect for racing; in the fifties, sunny, maybe a slight tailwind. We ran together most of the way and had started further back than we should have. Once again, I PR'd on both halves of the course and finished in 62:53. That race was really one of my breakthrough races. After that race, I was informed that taking another five minutes off my time was going to be very hard, duh.
2003
I wasn't going to race this year. I'd done Boston 13 days earlier, but had walked nearly half of the course. It was truly a last minute decision becuase a lot of my running friends were doing it. I had no expectations and just went to do it. The weather was even better than the year before and I didn't care at all, just went out and ran. I guess that I felt like I was owed a good race since Boston had gone so poorly and I was in the best shape of my life. That raced ended up being my PR that I'm still looking to break, 61:47.
2004
This year Broad Street was meant to be a tune up for the half marathon that I was running six weeks later. The conditions were horrendous; hot and humid with a headwind. The start got delayed and we had to stand on the starting line for twenty minutes waiting for the course to be cleared. Since I was in the midst of my build up, I didn't really know what would come of the race since my legs were dead. I was fairly happy finishing in 63:09 since hardly anyone ran close to their best times.
2005
Last year Broad Street was going to be a goal race, then the week before it I decided to run a marathon two weeks later. Clearly, tapering for this race wasn't my priority anymore. There was some taper, but I didn't have enough long runs under my belt for the marathon and didn't want to blow it completely. The original goal had been to go for a big PR, but now finishing feeling strong and not wiped out was my agenda. The conditions seemed like they could have been terrible since it rained until we got up to the start. The road was slick which made me apprehensive since I'm prone to slipping. My 62:21 made me fairly happy since it was close to my PR and it didn't kill me. I didn't feel great since I didn't cut back as much as I could have leading into it.
What does tomorrow hold? Don't know yet. I want to go out and have fun. Hopefully things go well, but there are lots of other things out there that are more important than running a fast race.
Posted by Blondie at May 6, 2006 11:24 AM
Comments
Heya. I like the recap. That's cool you've run the same race often so you can contrast and compare the different variables. Good luck tomorrow!
Posted by: Audrey at May 6, 2006 12:13 PM
Thanks for the recap--it was very interesting! Good luck tomorrow!!
Posted by: Caitlin at May 6, 2006 03:15 PM
I think tomorrow holds a BIG PR! You've been training so hard and SMART! Good luck - I'll be thinking of you!
Posted by: Beth at May 6, 2006 06:09 PM
I love your recap, it is cool to see how things have progressed over the last 5 years.
I think a PR will be happening tomorrow :)
Posted by: barb at May 6, 2006 08:09 PM
Sweet recap. 61-63 minute range is freakin' incredibly fast! I think the race is over now, but I hope it went really well!
Posted by: bridget at May 7, 2006 12:59 PM
I just looked up your results - great job!! So close to a PR. I can't wait to hear how the race went.
Posted by: barb at May 7, 2006 03:12 PM
I haven't seen your time, but if what Barb says is true, congratulations and wow!
Posted by: Alison at May 7, 2006 07:00 PM