Smiles

This morning, I ran the Stowe 8 miler. Temps were in the mid-70's and it rained fairly steadily, but not super hard from miles 2 - 8. A perfect day for a race.

My goal today was to work on my pace. I wanted to do consistent 7:30 miles to see what it felt like and get my body accustomed to that speed over a longish distance. The 7:30 pace would bring me to the finish at 60 minutes, another target.

I ran most of the race within about 15 seconds +/- of my target pace, which was cool. I had an early surge around mile 4 when I tried to stay with an athletic, attractive (from the back) woman, and slowed down when she faltered at mile 5 (and when her looks didn't quite live up to my imagination -- oh, the games we play on the road). At mile 6, I realized that maintaining my speed was taking more effort as the race wore on, so I pushed harder. I felt like I was flying, but still didn't quite get back on pace. I pushed even harder on mile 7, and by mile 8, I realized that my goal time was within reach. I felt strong, so I went for it. Too fast for my steady pacing work, but it felt really good.

I finished with a huge inside-out smile (started on the inside and just radiated out from me) when I realized that I beat the one hour target. It felt great, and I had enough in the tank to actually enjoy it. For someone who's usually breaking down at the end of a race, this was a welcome change.

Anyway, here are the numbers:
Mile 1 - 7:27
Mile 2 - 7:28
Mile 3 - 7:36
Mile 4 - 6:58
Mile 5 - 7:43
Mile 6 - 7:35
Mile 7 - 7:23
Mile 8 - 6:41
Total time -- 58:53 (unofficial)
Average pace -- 7:22