Bowlegs 5k - Damn it's cold!

This was my first race since the Jacksonville Half-Marathon. This was also the coldest weather I'd ever raced in - you can tell by what I'm wearing. I'm usually one to wear the least possible as I tend to warm-up very quickly. However, it was about 26 degrees when this 5k started. It was held near the FSU Golf Course on a "rolling hills" course that was slightly more challenging than some of my more recent 5k races.
I started off moderately hitting the mile split at 6:40. I tagged along, side-by-side with another runner who seemed to have a similar pace. We ran almost a mile and a half together and passed two miles at 13:38. This was not going to be one of my fastest races, that was for sure. This realization grew even more true as the runner I was pacing pulled away and crested the final hill on the way to the finish. My pace, which had already slowed, grew even slower with a 7:12 3rd mile. I finished 15th overall with a time of 21:33. A lot of room for improvement in many facets of the race; starting to slow, fading in the second half, and having trouble with hills. More endurance training and speedwork on the track will hopefully remedy these issues.

*Above Photo Credit: Herb Wills
Herb's Bowlegs blog: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/01/cox-switzer-winners-at-chilly-bowlegs.html

Jacksonville Bank Half-Marathon 2009

Wow. It has been a while since I last updated. Well, I have completed a number of events since my previous post. I participated in my second half-marathon on December 20th, 2009, the Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon. I had increased my mileage since my first half and felt more confident in my preparation for the 13.1m distance. I arrived early to Bolles School in south Jacksonville on a chilly Sunday morning. The temperature was about 44 degrees at the start, just perfect!
I began the race close to the front and my first mile was slightly faster than my goal pace. I had adjusted this by the second mile and felt pretty strong. Using my Garmin 405 GPS watch I could monitor my current pace, average pace and heart rate which is very beneificial, especially early in a longer race. But for those whose watches were less sophisticated 1st Place Sports provided clocks at almost all the mile marks. Using chip timing and my watch I'm able to review my splits. I reached the 5k point at about 23:18 and hit the 10k point at 47:05. By 10 miles I could sense the finish line but could definetly feel the distance and pace wearing on me. I cross 10 miles just over 1:16. Over the last 3 miles my pace faded. I continued to push toward the finish and crossed the line on the Bolles School track at 1:41:12.
Overall I was happy with my result. It was an excellent event by 1st Place Sports and I had knocked many minutes off of my previous half-marathon time. I intend to improve my late-race pace to avoid fading as bad as I did. I look forward to increasing my weekly mileage in order to improve my half-marathon even more.