Socks! Score!
The recap:
I was on a 1:30 pace through about the first five miles. But before I knew it, I was behind by close to a minute and a half. I experienced more soreness in the middle stages of this race than I usually do during a half marathon. I chalked that up to arriving at the event later than I would have liked. I had only 20 minutes to stretch, jog around, get my bag to the check-in area, and just focus before the starting gun.
I felt as though I was sprinting during the entire race, so there was no way my time could have been even a second faster. I was actually able to pickup some time in the final miles too, evinced by the fact I cut my time deficit nearly in half and missed my goal by only 39 seconds. I was close enough to running 1:30 that I picked up my pace sooner than usual and really, really pushed myself during the final three miles.
The marathon and half marathon courses split between Miles 10 and 11. After this point, the course was like a ghost town: no spectators, no aid stations, no traffic, and no other runners. Besides wanting to put in a strong finish with an outside chance at 1:30, my training really helped me during this stretch. I run alone on empty, wide-open roads here on the Rosebud. (Remember this photo?) Because of that experience, the loneliness during this portion of the race was actually to my benefit. I think it was the most fun I’ve ever had in the latter stages of a long race.
In the final mile, one of the volunteers directing traffic noted that I looked like a sprinter. I’m not sure if that was because of my speed, my form, or my build, but it made me smile. A sprinter I am not! Running too fast makes me nauseous anyway.
Quick side note: From what I've read, my body type is supposedly suited more for sprinting than distance running. That makes sense when you look at the builds of the runners who typically finish ahead of me at these races. I have a few more pounds to haul than the elite runners. Nothing I can do about that.
So, I didn’t achieve my goal. Oh well. But I’m over it and am proud of how I ran and the improvement I made over last year’s race. What I’m most disappointed about now, however, is Saturday was the second and final time I ran in Brookings. It was by far my favorite race in South Dakota. But the trails in Idaho await.
P.S. Soon after writing Saturday’s post, I stopped by the front desk at the Super 8. The woman behind the desk placed a call to Room 125. It was quiet by the time I arrived back in my room down the hall. I slipped back inside as quietly as possible so they wouldn’t know it was me who turned them in.
P.P.S. A couple photos of me, before and after, courtesy of the Brookings Marathon:
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