The race was very well managed!!! Some features include chip timed, 5 aid stations with water and gator-aid, well marked course (although no mile markers), finisher medals, hoodies, awards, plenty of post race food and snacks in an indoor heated space... all for 40 buck entry fee!
I was hoping for a warmer day but temperatures were 30 degrees with a 9mph wind come race day. I dressed in running tights and under-armor cold gear top and wasn't bothered by the temp at all. Didn't even really notice the wind except for one small section.
The whole family drove down to Carbondale the night before. We stayed the night at my parents house and woke up at 5:30 (my regular time) and started preparing for the 9am start. Spent some time chatting with my parents and didn't get too much time to lock in and focus on the race like I typically would... I wound up having a great performance so maybe this was a good thing?!? I felt pretty calm and didn't get too deep into my own head!
My dad and I got to the race at 8:15 and there were already plenty of people there. Got our numbers and shirts and got setup with all that. Went back to the car. Took-off my warmup gear and swapped into my Vaporflys. Didn't really get too much of a warm up... jogged a bit but mostly just stayed inside to keep out of the cold before the race.
We left the building and headed to the line around 8:55. They were just finishing up the National Anthem. The timing clock had a countdown to race going (nice feature)! With 2 minutes to go I got into the "corral" and found some space. Not quite at the line but maybe 10 feet back. Probably 25 runners in front of me? Not too many people wearing Vaporflys for the race but probably 50% of the people up front were.
When the clock hit zero someone shouted go and we took off. My plan was to go out smooth for the first mile and just warm up and then settle into a groove. I was thinking maybe a 7:45 first mile? I took off at a comfortable pace, passed a few people right off the bat, and soon settled in at around 15th place. the pace felt fast but very smooth. I was pretty much running by myself with a couple packs up ahead of me. There was a lone woman running up ahead, also in Vaporflys. Before the 1 mile mark her shoe lace came undone and she had to stop and tie it... I had noticed that the laces were a bit short while double knotting mine and was extra careful so it seemed like something to keep in mind for the future. I passed her and kept going. Hit the first mile at 6:38 pace (according to my watch at least).
My previous race (a 5k) I had gone out way too fast and paid for it dearly so at this point I was a little worried I went out too fast again but I still felt really good and my HR was ~160 so I shook out my arms and just tried to relax and slow a bit and kept going. Hit the 2nd mile at 6:42. Still felt pretty darn good and by now I was catching up to the pack ahead of me which consisted of 4 guys. I caught them at about 2.5 miles and ran with them a bit. Third mile was 6:39 pace. Right about this point the woman who had stopped to tie her shoe blew by us. Nobody tried to keep with her so I stuck with my pack. Made a right turn and went from paved to gravel road and suddenly were running straight into the wind. 2 of the 4 guys broke off the pack and fell back and I stuck with the other 2. I drafted a bit but eventually it felt like we were slowing down. We got to a slight downhill section so I ran up aside the lead runner of the pack and let the hill take me. Seems like the Vaporfly's are really good on downhills, at least with my stride.
I pulled away and left the pack behind and didn't see them again. Hit the 4th mile at 6:55. There was a left turn and now I was running free. Shoelace woman was maybe 100 meters ahead so I locked onto her and kept gliding. I still felt great and wondered how long it would last. The road was straight gravel path through the woods. There was some muddy/wet rutted sections but they were easily avoidable... there were basically two flattened out sections where the car tires had worn the road flat with some slight grass growing through the gravel in the middle. The woman ahead kept switching sides of the road every once in a while and I felt compelled to switch sides with her (I think the people ahead of here were switching sides to avoid mud and everyone down stream were just switching to have someone straight ahead to lock onto). Hit this 5th mile at 6:35.
At the 5.50ish point there was a sharp switch back turn and 2 volunteers were stationed there cheering and making sure the runners went the right way. I gave them a fist pump and a head nod and heard them comment that I was the first "fun" runner as I zipped past. 6th mile was 6:49 pace.
At 6.5 there was a right turn and the 3rd aid station. As I approached I ditched the socks I was wearing for mittens, as my hands were getting warm and I opted to get my first Gatoraid. I took a quick swig and then sloshed some more around in my mouth and spit. Didn't want too much but figured a little wouldn't hurt. Then continued on for about 1.5 miles to a turn around point. There was a box of Krispy Creams stationed at the turnaround... tempting but I passed.
After the turnaround, the next 1.5 miles was ran opposite to all the runners coming the other way. At first there were just a few but eventually I wound up going past most of the people running 2 hours or under. This was a bit distracting because I felt the need to have some kind of minor interaction with everyone who went past and I was really just trying to stay focused. I saw some friends who were also running the race and eventually my dad. Finally around mile 9 I was past everyone. Mile 7, 8, and 9 were 6:43, 6:45, 6:40.
Near the end of the 9th mile I hit the 4th aid station. I grabbed another Gatoraid, swigged it, and tossed the cup into the trash without breaking stride, much to the chagrin of the aid station volunteers. I was on fire!
The 10th mile ended in the middle of a bridge over Crab Orchard Lake. I had scoped this out on google maps street-view before the race and knew once I got here there'd be 5K left (note: Google maps wasn't helping my confidence in the visualize the race department with all the snow!).
As I approached the bridge my watch dinged 10 miles. Based on the course map I knew the real 10 mile point was up ahead so at that point I knew my watch must be off. The watch was telling me that I was averaging 6:45 pace and I was really hoping to go under 1:30:00 but I wasn't sure if that was reality. There was a runner up in a yellow shirt about 100 meters ahead and I just kept my focus on him... I had been slowly gaining on him for a while.
As I got onto the bridge I really noticed the wind for the first time. I was a cross-wind but it was cold. All those training runs running dead into the cold wind here in Brimfield finally paid off as the cold cross wind barely phased me. However, overall I was finally starting to hurt. My race plan was that I'd push when I had 5K left but instead I decided instead of pushing I'd just fight to not slow down.
At about 10.5 miles I heard footsteps and a guy blew past me. I wasn't really slowing down and I hadn't seen anyone too close at the turn around point so he must of really picked up the pace. I'm guessing he ran conservatively and them pushed it after the turnaround.
I decided to latch onto him and go with him until at least the 11th mile point. At about Mile 11 we caught yellow shirt. I decided to let the faster guy go and stick with yellow. I wasn't feeling totally wiped out but my legs (quads and IT band) were starting to hurt as was my right foot. I was a little worried, in the back of my mind, that if I pushed it too hard I could wind up hurt.
I stuck with the yellow shirt the rest of the way. A couple times he seemed like he was going to slow and I pulled abreast but every time I did he'd speed up and I'd wind up tucking back behind. I knew there couldn't be too much left but I was really anxious for the race to be over as I was starting to feel pretty gassed.
Finally we came around a bend and had ~600 meters to the finish. With 400 meters left I made one final push to pick up the pace past yellow shirt and he responded and took off. He was very serious about not letting me beat him!... me, not so much. I could tell now that I wouldn't break 1:30 and I had exceed my initial expectations by such a large factor that I didn't have much urge to dig into the well and push it, just to shave a few more seconds off.
I turned the final corner and had 150 meters to go. I could see the finish line and clock and realized I better pick it up a bit to break 1:31:00. I picked it up but not a full sprint. Final clock time was 1:30:59.5 (chip time 1:30:55). Last 3 miles 6:59, 6:45, 6:58.
After finishing I felt pretty good. I got my medal and reflective blanket and jogged to the car to change shoes and put back on my warmups and sweatshirt. Then I got some coffee, hot chocolate, orange slices, and fig newtons and headed back to the finish line to cheer for my friends and my dad. My friends came by at around 1:53 and my dad finished 2:03:16 (he had hoped for under 2 but hadn't trained that hard so wasn't unhappy). I jogged in the last 600m with my dad which helped for a cooldown.
After the race we hung out inside, ate more food, and waited for the awards. My father and I both wound up winning our age divisions and I was 7th overall. My time was 6-7 minutes over my expectations and almost a 4 minute PR from my time from nearly 10 years ago... I'm sure the shoes had some impact on time but my competitors were mostly wearing them too so I didn't feel bad one bit.
Prolog: Writing this now I'm pretty sore. Nothing feels injured but just standard soreness from pushing the pace and racing hard. I took yesterday off with just some walking (and chasing the kids around). Woke up this morning to bike but decided to just walk on the treadmill instead. Mentally and physically I'm drained but on the other hand my legs still have some spring in them (that I noticed while chasing my kids yesterday and cooling down after the race) and I'm not nearly as sore as after my trail run in New Caledonia. I expect I will recover quickly.
I'm a little disappointed in myself for letting yellow shirt go. I think I could have beat him if I had really wanted to but I just didn't have the urge to dig for it... during the race I was just thinking about how I crushed my time goal and didn't want to get hurt and didn't see the point of digging for a few extra seconds and one overall place but maybe that's just excuses? Still need to work on the mental toughness maybe. Also, my last 3 miles were slower because I let him control the pace. Every time I tried to pass him he fought me off and then would slow back down.
Last thought is that it seems that for sure the Next% shoes really work at least for me. Hard to know how much to attribute to training, vs taper, vs shoes, but I ran fast, never slowed down really, and still have something left in the tank... not sure I can ever go back now?!?
Final stats:
13.1 miles
1:30:55
6:56 pace
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