12 miles, hard
45 degrees, partly sunny
Finally it was time for USATFs. We brought a larger team to this year’s race in Charlotte, and arguably our best team for any race ever. Arriving after dark Friday night prevented us from scouting the course, so we were relieved to se that the course was “pancake flat” when we arrived. Also, it was primarily made up of packed gravel like the canal towpath, which presented some choices on race footwear.
After a team warmup and cheer, 13 of us toed the line against over 400 of the country’s top runners. I was somewhat relieved that I wasn’t being relied upon this year to score for the team, so I could run my own race. At the start, I settled in at just faster than my goal race pace. The first lap saw me trying to find my place in the pack and settle into race pace. I hit 5:17 for the first mile, but slowed to 5:32 for the second mile. I tried to surge to a faster pace, but found myself averaging 5:35-5:45 for the next few miles. I aimed to keep up with a pack just in front of me, and battled the guys around me, but still couldn’t find a way to speed up. Finally, with about a mile to go, I was able to steadily pick off other runners and put together a kick I didn’t think was in me.
I crossed the line in 34:28, somewhat disappointed and much more exhausted than I had anticipated. I had hoped to run nearly a minute faster, but acknowledged that I couldn’t have run much faster that day. The better news was that the team finished 14th overall, an improvement of five places over last year, while competing against even more teams. In fact, our team finished among the top “working runner” teams in the race, beating Manhattan Track Club, Central Park Track Club, Atlanta Track Club, New Balance Boston, Greater Boston Track Club, and Bull City Track Club. We were also excited to have Coach Jerry attend the race with us, and we’re looking forward to continuing our improvement in 2011.
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