The Race Log 10/18/08

Distance: 7.00 miles
Time: 1:00:20
Pace: 8:36/mile
Weight: 200lbs
Terrain: Mostly flat over first four miles, couple of miles of rolling hills, then a flat finish
Temperature: Cold and calm. Perfect conditions
Gear: Adidas running shorts, Asics Gel Nimbus shoes, yellow long-sleeved Nike sports shirt.
Race Number: 3010
Hydration: Water
Fuel: None
Medical: None
Recovery: Stretches, Aleve, Jack Stack Barbecue, a long nap

Leaving aside the fact that I had several thousand running buddies, which upped the fun-factor exponentially, this run was among the most comfortable, and least painful of any that I've done. I felt great from start to finish, and it turned out, in all honesty, to be a pretty easy run. I knew I was running fast, but was quite surprised to see how close I'd come to breaking an hour, and perhaps regretted just a little that I didn't check my watch a little earlier, as I think I was probably capable of doing just that. Still, I only missed it by 20 seconds, and my 9:00 pace goal was easily beaten.

This also marked the last run I will do in my Asics shoes. The heels are starting to give, and my new shoes are primed and ready to go, so I'm looking forward to breaking those in, but I'm glad I stuck with the old ones through the race. There was no point in risking anything before then, and it worked out fine.

It was a bit stressful at times with our "taxi service" struggling to make it to the relay points on time, and Jon forgot to return the ChampionChip at the end, so hopefully I can mail that back in to avoid the $30 fine for non-return. Still, this was the best race of the three I've run, both in terms of fun, and in terms of quality, and I really felt well trained.

Next stop Arizona!