Today was the 8th annual Pat's Run in Tempe, Arizona. The race sold out at 28,000 runners. My goal for this race is always to hold up my end of the bargain by placing higher than what I'm seeded.
When you register, you're asked for a projected finish time. Bib numbers are assigned based on how fast you think you'll go. I was assigned #481. Out of 28k I better be pretty quick or I'm gonna get trampled.
We did our 2 mile warm up from the car to the start line and I was so not feelin' it. My legs are heavy. True Ironman taper is just 24 hours away and my legs are carrying the burden of the last 22 weeks. My goal of running faster than last year was quickly turning into a quest to not embarrass myself.
We lined up at the front. Looking around I didn't see too many women. I was alone in a sea of red, decked out in Blue Paradise, aka: Boston Blue. It's my lucky print- a blue and white Hawaiian floral pattern on matching skirt and bra. It was what I wore the first time I qualified for Boston. Any time I need a little pick-me-up on race day, I pull out Boston Blue.
The gun sounded and we were off. Elbows flew for the quarter mile as runners jockeyed for position. I even threw a few myself. Having run this race almost every year since it started, I know exactly where the mile markers are positioned. I know where I should grab water (at the bottom of Curry) and where I shouldn't (on Mill before the climb). I didn't look at my watch, and glanced only at the first couple of timers at the mile markers.
It wasn't my best race, but given the fatigue in my legs and the lactic that was streaming through my system after the first mile, I didn't do too badly. And I held up my end of the deal, finishing in 301st place. I crossed the line in 28:16, 15 seconds slower than last year. I was 13th woman overall, 3rd woman in my age group.
Pat's Run is pretty awesome and we love running it every year. It's amazing to see 28 thousand people come out for a 4.2 mile run. I didn't know Pat Tillman. My book club read his mom's book. And I consider myself to be highly patriotic and am proud to support the foundation. We always have a great time catching up with everyone after the finish, once we catch our breath.
Tomorrow it's long ride, though not as long as the last few weeks, followed by transition run on a killer trail. And then... the official start to taper. We're kicking it off by lounging poolside post run. We've finally hit 100 degrees this weekend and the water will feel awesome! Taper, here we come!
3 comments:
Great job on your race! Enjoy your taper!
I'm a novice runner and I ran Pat's Run for the first time on Saturday. As someone who has run the race before, did you notice anything odd in your mile splits? My pace is generally in the 7:30-7:35 range. According to the official timing I ran the 3rd mile in 8:45, and the 4th mile in 6:07. I know I was excited to be nearing the finish, but a 6:07 final mile seems to be pretty heroic for a 7:35 runner. Just wondering if you had a similar result.
BiggJon, I didn't check my mile splits, but I do know that the course measures a little short on my GPS so it always says that my pace for the last 0.2 mile is faster than it actually was. My GPS splits were pretty much right on with the course markings though so maybe you got a burst of adrenaline! Nice job!
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