Monday was the day of the big two-mile race. Start time was 7:30 am on July 4th, and it was pretty warm even by that time. It was my debut race as a member of The Athlete's Foot racing team, the organization for which I work. I got a free singlet and everything, even though I prefer running in tops that actually look like shirts.
Anyhow, it was my first race since a 5K last November. I set a PR there, too, 24:52. I'm finally starting to mix it up a little and compete in races, instead of showing up and running as though it was a training effort. My training has been much better only in the last six weeks or so, and I hadn't done a lot of speedwork, so I thought a goal of 18:00 over two miles seemed like a good idea.
I went out pretty quickly, about 7:30 pace, which is redlining it for me. I felt a pain on the back inside of my left knee, so I dialed it back just a touch. I feel this at the start of my runs, but it goes away quickly. This went away after a mile or so, and I attribute it to dialing up the speed too quickly. Two pre-race strides weren't enough.
The course was an out and back, and a good challenge, with some up and down. My pace crept above 8:00 for a bit, before settling more at 7:45-7:50. I was (and am) very pleased with my finish time of 15:46. Well-earned, and I competed with myself a little bit.
Post-race, I picked up a door prize of an Alabama baseball player bobblehead doll and a pair of shorts that were in a women's size, so I donated them to a coworker. It's always nice to stick around a bit, since there's always such a cool vibe at these events.
I owed two more miles when I got home, since I had a four-miler planned, and they were pain and effort-free. This is easy week, down to 16 miles this week, whereas I'd been 20-22-23 the last three weeks. So the mileage comes down now, and back up to 25 or so next week.
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