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I really thought I had a shot at running a sub-4 race, but it wasn't to be. I came in at 4:02. Next time I'm going to do some more hill and interval training, because my legs just completely died on me at the end. I was really disappointed at my time, but I gave it pretty much all I had.
My big problem with the race was my GPS. For the first 14 miles it was showing me running a faster pace than my splits at the mile markers were showing. I compensated by speeding up, but then my unit developed a bigger problem - my lap database was full at the 8-mile mark. I tried everything to make it keep working, but ultimately had to just delete all of my runs and start my unit over. The problem was that it had quit tracking my distance for about a half mile while I was working with it.
I restarted my GPS at mile 10, but I had no idea how much time I had banked, what my total time was, or what my average pace was. This proved my demise at the end of the race. I knew I had to bank some time for the hills at the end of the course, but without a total time to go on, I hadn't any idea how much time I needed to bank. To compensate, I sped up for miles 10 - 18, running as fast as I dared. I think I overdid it, and when I hit mile 20, I was gassed.
I needed an average pace of 9:10, and I knew I had some time banked, so I ran the hill at 19 at a 9:52. I sped up to an 8:55 for the next mile, but then I was spent. I ran miles 22-24 at 9:40, 9:52, and 10:13. At the mile 24 water stop I asked someone what they had for time, and they told me 3:39. I realized that I had blown any cushion I had and that I'd have to run the last two miles at 9:00 - and I was completely spent.
I tried anyway. I took off out of the water stop at 8:50 or so, but the hill killed me. I pushed up the hill, but I was done at the top, and passed the 25 mile mark 9:43 after leaving mile 24. At this point, I knew I wasn't going to break 4 hours, and I was dying. I pressed on for the last 1.2 miles at a 10:25 pace, and nearly collapsed at the finish line, missing my goal by 2 minutes and 7 seconds.
Interestingly, my heart was in fine shape to handle the run, but my legs were lacking. Even more interesting, my heart rate averaged 166 for the first 8 miles, and 163 for the last 16.
My time was disappointing, but I tried to look on the bright side. At least, I thought, I'll still be able to see BYU beat an ACC team that night, that would lift my spirits. Maybe not.
All in all, it's a good course, but a word of warning to those who want to run it - the last few hills are killers. It's not that they're steep or long, it's just that they're at the end.
My big problem with the race was my GPS. For the first 14 miles it was showing me running a faster pace than my splits at the mile markers were showing. I compensated by speeding up, but then my unit developed a bigger problem - my lap database was full at the 8-mile mark. I tried everything to make it keep working, but ultimately had to just delete all of my runs and start my unit over. The problem was that it had quit tracking my distance for about a half mile while I was working with it.
I restarted my GPS at mile 10, but I had no idea how much time I had banked, what my total time was, or what my average pace was. This proved my demise at the end of the race. I knew I had to bank some time for the hills at the end of the course, but without a total time to go on, I hadn't any idea how much time I needed to bank. To compensate, I sped up for miles 10 - 18, running as fast as I dared. I think I overdid it, and when I hit mile 20, I was gassed.
I needed an average pace of 9:10, and I knew I had some time banked, so I ran the hill at 19 at a 9:52. I sped up to an 8:55 for the next mile, but then I was spent. I ran miles 22-24 at 9:40, 9:52, and 10:13. At the mile 24 water stop I asked someone what they had for time, and they told me 3:39. I realized that I had blown any cushion I had and that I'd have to run the last two miles at 9:00 - and I was completely spent.
I tried anyway. I took off out of the water stop at 8:50 or so, but the hill killed me. I pushed up the hill, but I was done at the top, and passed the 25 mile mark 9:43 after leaving mile 24. At this point, I knew I wasn't going to break 4 hours, and I was dying. I pressed on for the last 1.2 miles at a 10:25 pace, and nearly collapsed at the finish line, missing my goal by 2 minutes and 7 seconds.
Interestingly, my heart was in fine shape to handle the run, but my legs were lacking. Even more interesting, my heart rate averaged 166 for the first 8 miles, and 163 for the last 16.
My time was disappointing, but I tried to look on the bright side. At least, I thought, I'll still be able to see BYU beat an ACC team that night, that would lift my spirits. Maybe not.
All in all, it's a good course, but a word of warning to those who want to run it - the last few hills are killers. It's not that they're steep or long, it's just that they're at the end.
After my calves started cramping and my pace slowed way down, I got passed by a couple of speed walkers. 
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