Well, we all got running PRs this year at the SJ Rock ‘n’ Roll, and 8 seconds was the lucky number! Tom and A. were 8 seconds apart coming in at 1:45:12 and 1:45:04, respectively, and I beat my previous PR (from this year’s Jungle Run) by a mere 8 seconds (1:51:15)!
I really had to work to beat it, too. I started out feeling great and feeling strong. My Runkeeper stats show that in that first mile, I averaged an 8 minute pace and the second mile, 8:03.
I knew I was going too fast, though, so I reined it in but battled the voice inside that was encouraging me to go as fast as I could while I could, reminding me I could always slow down later.
For the most part, I tried to strike a balance. I knew it was going to be close to 70F by finish time, so it was in my best interest to try to cover as much ground as possible during the cooler part of the run.
And, it did get warm…quickly! I found myself feeling alternately crummy and revitalized–crummy shortly after taking in water and improved a few minutes later, so my pace fluctuated, but was, by mid-run, already at about 8:30.
I knew getting a PR was in reach but also knew I didn’t really have much leeway. The last 3 miles were hot and miserable and I could not push myself much while sprinting through the final .1 to the finish line. I was watching the clock during the entire sprint and trying to make it before the clock ticked to 1:57 (by my calculation, I crossed the start about 6-8 minutes after gun time), but I didn’t! So, when I crossed the finish, I was not entirely certain I’d gotten a PR, though I was leaning on “yes.”
In the end, well, I beat it by only 8 seconds. If I hadn’t sprinted with everything I had, I probably wouldn’t have made it! And, see that, another 8 seconds: my clock time was 1:57:08!!
Overall, I did better than I felt (and, actually, quite surprised by the percentiles which I probably wouldn’t have paid much mind to had H. not mentioned it twice!):
Overall : 1526/10263 = 15%
Division (my age group): 43/914 = 5%
Women : 305/5331 = 6%
Pace: 8:30
And, now with Runkeeper genius, I have my splits, too:
1 mi 8:00 -2
2 mi 8:03 -21
3 mi 8:09 4
4 mi 8:21 6
5 mi 8:19 33
6 mi 8:25 -7
7 mi 8:30 1
8 mi 8:24 -14
9 mi 8:47 32
10 mi 8:21 -15
11 mi 8:28 -13
12 mi 8:37 -1
13 mi 8:38 26
14 mi 9:14 -11 (this is a little deceptive because I couldn’t stop RK right away).
It is doubtful I’ll get another PR at the Morgan Hill half in 2 weeks–it’s a hilly course–but that won’t stop me from trying my best.