I Ran Thru A Horse Stable!!

I tell you... you have to be on your A-game for this long distance stuff. There is little degree for error. I did my half at "about" what I wanted to do. I made some major mistakes, though. As I type, I'm looking for a redemption race for this. It wasn't a debacle, but wasn't what I was expecting. Let me list my errors:
* Stayed out late last night and didnt get to bed until after midnight
* Ate ALL the wrong food last night (after 8pm albeit), I hardly ever eat dinner after 8pm
* Didnt fuel like I was supposed to just prior to the race (more on that)
* Let the "pack" get too far ahead of me during the first 5-6 miles
* Focused too much on not bombing near the end of the race
* Let a twurp sneak from behind and pass me during the last 200 meters

I dont know... I guess i wasnt paying close attn to detail. The REGISTRATION started at 8:30am and the race started at 9:30am. I ate a light breakfast at 6:30am (bagel and cereal) and took a cup of coffee with me. Got there and was like "Man... I'm early". So I jogged for about a mile and a half to warm up, did some stretches and tried to keep warm. The weather was great... 40 degrees at start. So now its like 9:20 and I'm thinking... "Hmmm... I got this Gu for mile 7, but I aint had nothing since 6:30", so i down the Gu. It was kind of disorganized at the start... the 5k runners were all in the way. They were to start like 5 minutes after us. The first 1/4 mile was very congested, and they didnt block off traffic... so you running on and off the curb!! I felt good for the first 4 miles, aside from this chick that kept trying to make me race her by speeding slowing speeding slowing, just to keep me in check. I think she was trying to make me pace her... left her in the dust. Around mile 5, the rolling hills started. The wind was killing!! By this time, the pack was wayyy ahead, so I couldnt draft. The 5k'ers ran on some of our course and they ended at our 4.5 mile, so it was hard to differentiate, until the mad exidus.

I was running a smart race, I felt. My pace was perfect, but those rolling hills and the wind got me... we had to do a 4 mile loop twice, so we had to endure that stuff twice!! My goal was to slowly pick people off that started too fast. Past like 6 people between 5-10 miles. Got there around 1:16... a tad slower than I wanted. Then POOF!! That hunger thing that I talked about previously kicked in. I had no Gu, there was no Gatorade during the run... just water. Usually, this is where my race begins... not today. I struggled MISERABLY to keep pace, where I can usually drop 15-20 seconds per mile for the last 3.1 miles. I look at my Garmin and at mile 12.25, I'm at 1:36:xx and I knew it was a wrap!! I just said "Rest at the finish" and just brought it in... passing 3 more people in that span. Then this twirp just darts past me right at the end, I never hear/saw him coming. (darn headphones). It was too late to react. So I just let him be. My final time was 1:41:11. Well off my goal, but heck, its early in the season!!

So why do I say that I ran thru a horse stable... because this Low-Key race brought the horses. First place was 1:16:xx overall. For me to place, I had to run a 1:23:xx, not even close. Where did all these "horses" come from?? Last year my time would have been competitive. And one more thing... during a 1 mile stretch there was actually a horse stable!! It was so crazy, the horses saw us running and actually tried to run with us, until they reached the end of the fence, and they just watched us in amazement. Was very weird for them to just sit and watch us.

Here are my split:
7:35 / 7:37 / 7:41 / 7:48 / 7:45 / 7:34 / 7:36 / 7:27 / 7:42 / 7:53 / 7:45 / 7:42 / 7:37 / 1:09 for last .16'ish

Well my full marathon is in 8 days... I'm GOING to break 3:30:xx. I was going to just cruise it, but since no PR today, it will have to be at the full... I now know what I need to do in order to get faster... my splits were pretty even, so endurance isnt the problem... to the track I come, and for real this time, and I run on...