Sometimes it's good when the weather forecast is wrong. For the past couple days, forecasters had been calling for thunderstorms during the Great Race. The most we actually got was a drizzle and some stiff wind. The downside of that was intense humidity, which tends to suck the life out of me. Dropping the towel I'd brought to wipe my sweat at the very beginning of the race was a little frustrating given the humidity.

Despite the less than ideal weather, I have nothing to be disappointed about. I finished in 54:02.28 (8:43 pace) according to my watch (54:01, officially) – 1885/4128 finishers, 181/267 men 25-29. My mile splits were as follows.

1. 8:56.16 (slow start, starts uphill, ends downhill)
2. 8:18.63 (mostly downhill)
3. 8:49.13 (mostly uphill)
4. 9:07.95 (mostly downhill)
5. 9:11.52 (uphill)
6. 7:53.32 (downhill)
7. 1:45.57 (downhill)

The section I need to work hardest on next year is mile 4. There's no good reason for me to be running that slow downhill. My goal for next year is average 8:30/mile or better.

BTW, a funny thing happened on the way to the starting line. A van pulled up next to the sidewalk I was on and honked. The driver wanted to know if I could guide his son to the starting line. I agreed. As we walked I asked him a little about how far he runs, how fast, etc. He's a 16-year-old cross-country runner who'd never raced farther than 5K. He said his 5K times are typically around 19-20 minutes. I knew then he'd be kicking my butt in this race. 😉 And boy oh boy did he. He finished in 44:04 Congratulations, kid. 🙂

This past Saturday, I ran in the Run Around the Square 5K. My stopwatch time was 27:05 (8:44 pace) and my chip time was 27:21 (8:49 pace). The course was a lot steeper – a lot harder – than I’d anticipated. My first mile time was about 8:18 and I think my last mile time was probably about 8:30. Obviously, the steep second mile kicked my butt. Hopefully I’ll do better at Run Shadyside on September 16, which has a very flat course. I’m hoping for a time of 26 minutes or better.