New Bedford Race Report

Ok the boring part:  I wanted to do better than Hyannis 3 weeks ago where I did 1:36 something in the rain.  Today it was sunny and 38ish. Perfect conditions except for a little head wind at times.  I prepared carefully eating all the right foods leading up to the race, hydrating, sleeping….  I filled up on some pre-race drink just before. I ate Cliff Shots every 3 miles for the first half then 2 caffeinated GUs at 6 and 9. 

The race – I started off towards the front and when out strong.  My local competitor friends Maria, Rose, Maureen, and Debra and I all lined up together.  First mile was sub 7:00.  I felt OK but settled into a more comfortable pace of 7:05 – 7:08 for the following 6 miles.  I was instantly overdressed and had to remove my hat and gloves and tuck them into my capris.  At the middle point I noticed this woman about my age running right next to me, then slowly pulling away, then pulling up to the girl in front of me. HA! I got your number. You are picking us off. This was perfect for me as I was motivated to catch up to her and her new victim. Slowly I caught them all the while increasing my pace back to a 7:05ish.  I was able to keep my pace for the most part and felt incredibly fast actually.  That said my awesome race only got me 17^th in my division.  This race was so competitive that even an average pace of 6:30 did not get you into the top 10 in the 40-49 division! 

I  also managed to screw up big time when I thought that I was constantly checking  my lap split but in fact was staring at my average pace causing me to think I was very solidly holding my pace.  Once I realized my error I couldn't bring myself to look at my lap split rather then average pace while racing. I left the average pace as my barometer. Afraid I would be disappointed to see a slowing lap split. Somewhere along the way I managed a few 7:18s and one 7:30 on the last “hill” which reduced my overall pace to 7:14.   Final time was 1:34:29.  Two minutes faster than Hyannis 3 weeks ago.   J

I THINK the GUs gave me a stomach issue after the race. I’m going to switch to caffeinated Cliff Shots like Carrie suggested.  I got a big blister on my second largest toe on my right foot  while using Kinvaras. This also happened at Hyannis but it was raining so I thought it was due to the rain.  I will not be using Kinvaras for the marathon but I still love them for shorter distances blister and all.  Happy running! Boston is only 4 weeks away.