Run As One Classic (4M) - 4/13/08

I can't believe it, but for the second race in a row I achieved a PR. In addition, I achieved a few "firsts" in this race: 1) I finally cracked the 60% barrier for the AG% (60.4%), 2) I ran my fastest overall pace in a race (7:03), and 3) I ran my fastest individual mile in a race (6:31). This will be a race that I can look back on a while from now and see that a number of things clicked. As we all know, good running times can be streaky so I just need to ride this one as long as I can. My running and exercise regimen seems to be working for me and I need to continue the formula that I've been living by for the past 6 months or so - running 3x times per week including a run of about 10 miles, spinning once per week, and weights once per week. The 5 days of exercise coupled with 2 days of rest seems to be the ideal combination for me thus far. This combination allows me to keep up my fitness and mileage, while not completely wearing me out. If I do a marathon this year, I will need to modify the formula, but it is important that I keep two days of rest. Anything less than that and I feel that I will be too worn out during the week and it makes it much harder for me to recover.

As for the race, there were thousands of people lined up at the start and I figured that the first mile would be very congested. I even ran the race without any music (which is usually not the case). This wasn't on purpose - when I got to baggage, I was chatting it up a bit with BH and AK, and I forgot to put on my MP3 player before we started walking over to the start. By the time I realized this, it was too late to go back. For a race this short, the first mile gains increased importance if you plan to run a fast race. I was shocked that I was able to get out to a 7:31 first mile (I usually get out between 7:45 and 8:00) and then knew that I had a chance for a fast time (not necessarily a PR though). The next 2 miles were at a very fast pace for me (7:04 each one), but I felt surprisingly good. Going into the last mile, I knew that I was ahead of PR pace and ran as hard as I could. I couldn't believe that I PR'd by as much as I did. Woo hoo! Not knowing when the next PR will come, I will enjoy this one for as long as I can.

Mile Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:31
Mile 2 - 7:04
Mile 3 - 7:04
Mile 4 - 6:31
Total Time: - 28:13; pace - 7:03

For the week: Mon - 6.5 miles, Tues - spinning, Weds - off, Thurs - 6 miles, Fri - off, Sat - 10 miles, Sun - 4 miles

Congrats to all of the other Flyers on their great races today. It seemed as if everyone I talked to was very happy with their race times. I guess it was a combination of the very favorable running conditions of around 50 degrees and cloudy skies.