Jim24315
Cool Runner |
 posted Nov-12-2007 08:05 AM
   
Clarksburg Country Run - Pacific 30K Championship SUMMARY:
Time: 2:06:25
Pace: 6:46.8
Division Place: 2nd 60-64 LONG VERSION: This was a race that I had planned to run since June, but cancelled from my plans following the half marathon I ran last month. I thought I had pulled a hamstring but when it cleared up after a couple days rest I assumed that it had been just a bad cramp. At that point I decided to run easy for a couple weeks to see how things went. By last weekend I was feeling so good that I ran 2 races, a club 2.75 miler on Saturday (17:07), and a 10k on Sunday (39:32). Not the smartest thing in the world to do the week before a 30k and on Monday I was still undecided about running it. By Tuesday, however, my legs felt as though I hadn’t raced at all--not even a hint of soreness. The following day, Wednesday, I decided to give it a shot and register on the morning of the race. When we woke up at 5:00 Sunday morning it was still raining, as it had been when we went to bed. However, the race time forecast was for slight chance of a shower and clearing later on. During our drive to Clarksburg (almost 2 hours) the skies were overcast but there were only a few sprinkles of rain lasting a minute or two. Clarksburg is a beautiful little town just east of Sacramento that sits next to the Sacramento River. After exiting from the freeway and beginning our trek down the first of several country roads leading into Clarksburg, the autumn leaves were falling off the trees on onto our windshield. It reminded me of the fall weather I knew as a boy while growing up in Michigan. Just to the left were the banks of the river. Ahead was an old pickup truck with a couple teenagers in the cab and several more riding in the bed. It was easy to see where the race got its name “Country Run”. When we finally pulled into the Delta High School “parking lot” we were directed by to a spot on a large grassy field. Although the country atmosphere, with all the sights and smells that go with it, helped to relax me, I sill had some of that feeling that a sky jumper must get just before jumping out of an airplane. It was a feeling I’d been having since I made up my mind on Wednesday to race. It had been 14 years since I had raced this far and I was very nervous about it. I like the adrenaline rush that comes with racing, but at the same time I usually have some fear, and in the case of this race there was a lot of it. Instead of the usual half hour or so I take to warm up for most races, I decided to make due with some walking and a 12-minute jog that included a burst of about 40 seconds. The legs were feeling quite good considering the punishment I’d give them just a week before…fast forward to the race…oh yes, fashion. I always seem to forget that part in my RR’s: white hat with WVJS club logo, white singlet with club logo (red and blue), dark blue nylon shorts, Asics LD Racer VII flats (red with grey trim), and a pair of $6 wrap around sunglasses (the kind that Dark Horse likes).
I lined up 3 rows back, said hi to some friends and other acquaintances, and within 3-4 minutes the horn sounded. My first goal was to average under 7-min pace and if I felt good to go for sub-3 hour marathon pace of 6:52. Also I hoped to finish in top 3 of 60-64 division. The first mile passed in 6:48 and seemed comfortable enough, but with so many miles to go I had no idea how difficult this same pace would feel an hour or more from now—even after an hour I would be less than half way!  Yes, I was highly respectful of the distance. By mile 2 I had backed off to a 6:53 and held it in that range through mile 4. Here were the splits for entire race: 01 - 6:48
02 - 6:53
03 - 6:53
04 - 6:52
05 - 6:50
06 - 6:44
07 - 6:46
08 - 6:40
09 - 6:47
10 - 6:45
11 - 6:50
12 - 6:46
13 - 6:44
14 - 6:45
15 - 6:43
16 - 6:44
17 - 6:50
18 - 6:45
last .64 in 4:20
Finish time – 2:06:25 Although there were 200 runners in the 30k, I managed to find myself running in a pocked by myself for most of the way. For divisional honors I figured there were 2 guys ahead of me. One of them was National 10k champ, who I had no chance against, and another guy who won the long course segment of last year’s USATF series. I thought I might have a chance against him, but he pulled ahead early and was out of sight within a few miles. I was hoping he would come back into view during the 2nd half of the race, and as I increased my pace slightly through the mid stages I kind of expected it. However, when I still couldn’t see him by 14 miles I resigned myself to 3rd place, or perhaps worse if there was some other unknown in the mix. This didn’t mean I was going to stop trying though, since I was having a very good race as far as meeting my time goals, so I settled into the late race game I often play of trying to hold pace “just until the next mile marker.” I tell myself I can let up after that because I'll have such a good cushion. It doesn’t seem quite so daunting as thinking all the way to the end. After each one I start the game over, and if I’m lucky I can make it all the way without slowing down. Then, as I was a minute or 2 from reaching the 18 mile mark, my rival finally came into view. I had been so busy playing my marker-to-marker game that I hadn’t even noticed. As I pulled closer I decided to ease in behind him and not move too early. However, he had slowed so much that I thought I could blow by and completely discourage him. Also, I wanted to make sure I covered mile 18 in under 7 minutes as I had every other mile up until this point. If is stayed with him too long I might not get under 7, so I moved into my strider pace, planning to start my drive to the finish right then and there. Moments later I came up to a sign that said “400 meters to go”. A guy on bicycle shouted out “there’s nobody behind you now—just stay strong to the finish.” I might have let up just a little at that point, knowing that nothing I could do was going to affect my placing, and cruised under the finish banner as it read “2:06:25”. It’s funny how we can put out of our minds how tired we are in the late stages of a race, but after stopping it all starts to seep in. I had to stagger around in the chute for a couple minutes before I could let the volunteer cut my timing chip off. Without a doubt this was the most tired I’ve been after a race in many years--I was drained. The thought that almost immediately came to mind was, “How can anybody run a marathon? Don’t even think about it!” I told myself  Jim [This message has been edited by Jim24315 (edited Nov-12-2007).]
IP: Logged |
