Trolley Run

It was really hard to get up at 5:10 this morning. I got to bed a little later than I wanted, and had to get up with the grand kids just long enough in the middle of the night to make going back to sleep less than instantaneous. Plus, it was dark, cool and rainy as I rolled out - not particularly energy-inducing.

But after enduring the Rock the Parkway half marathon in a 45 degree rain, I wasn't going to let this relatively warm wetness bother me all that much. I made myself a little garbage bag rain coat and headed to the Plaza, where I caught the bus to the starting line. A big crowd of more than 10,000 other runners joined me.

Once we got to the starting area I went through my warm-up plan - a mile at a 10 min. pace, a little stretching, and another mile at 10 min., followed by more easy stretching. I particularly wanted my groin and hamstrings to be warm and loose, since this would be pretty much a 4-mile downhill sprint. I didn't want to come out hobbling. God must be a runner, because he brought the light rain to a complete stop about 25 min. before the start.

I can't say I felt all that springy in the legs as we took off, or really anytime during the race. That was probably partly due to not taking any full days off leading up to the race (although I drastically cut back both mileage and intensity), and partly because I started the race at a fast pace.

How fast? I don't really know; I never got my GPS started. I thought it was started, but I didn't check it until about the 3.5 mile mark. My only pace clue came at about 2 miles, when I heard two other runners nearby talking about their time being in the 14s. So, regrettably, I have no splits.

I felt pretty strong and reasonably fast almost all the way. I could feel myself flagging just a bit in the final half mile, but I'm sure that mile was still under my overall pace.

Despite my GPS problems, I didn't have to wait long to get my results. 50 feet from the finish line I walked up to a computer, typed in my bib number, and got my chip time and pace (29:36 and 7:24). I'd beaten my expectation by almost a full minute per mile. And I'm not hobbling. -- Rob