Runtex 20 Mile Race
Today I ran the Runtex 20 miler in Georgetown. This is the first time the race has been up there and it marked my return to this race after a year hiatus. I ran all the 30ks in Buda, the race in Round Rock, and the race in San Marcos since 2003. I rode up to the course with Brian and Randy and I honestly was not up for doing this race. I gained a few lbs over the holidays and haven't been feeling my best. We got up to the race site and it was really cold. Brian and I opted for skipping the warm up and staying inside one of the buildings that Georgetown High School provided. We finalized final clothing and then headed out to the start.
The goal for the race was to run the first 5 miles as a warm up and then run the final 15 miles at MGP which is 8:00/mile for me. The gun went off and we started off at a pretty good clip before pulling back. The weather was perfect...where were you on December 14th? I was feeling good, but my stomach was feeling weird. I think it was the flopping of my belly that was throwing me off. I had to pee something fierce during mile 4 so I pulled off to a potty. Brian continued on and I chased him down and he slowed a bit for me. That ended up being my slowest mile of the day.
Miles 1- 5 splits - 8:23, 8:18, 8:14, 8:40, 8:26
We started out on the loop portion of the course which had some rolling hills between mile 6 and 11. Nothing major, but enough to make you work a little and break up the monotony. The course was really nice for the most part. We did pick it up a bit for the next 5 miles and got into a really good rhythm.
Miles 6-10 splits - 8:16, 7:59, 8:04, 8:04, 7:56
The next section had us running into a bit of a wind from our side which wasn't too bad. We ran by the Gazelles water stop which was nice. We then headed onto a dirt road section which kind of sucked because the rocks were kind of big, but not too bad since it was only about half a mile long. The road on the other side was really rough, almost like a pebble tec surface and was hard on the feet. We had to run straight into the wind for about a mile before returning to the out and back section. That brought back some bad Dallas memories, but I fought through it.
Miles 11-15 splits - 7:56, 8:04, 8:05, 8:06, 8:15 (wind mile)
I was feeling tired after the windy mile and it showed in my last set of splits. Brian went ahead of me with between 3-4 miles to go. I was going through another bad spell, but kept plugging away. With about two miles to go I ran into Kelly and we ran each other in along with another man we met in that spot. I came out of my spell with two miles to go and had a nice strong finish. The course was about a quarter mile long and my Garmin had the course at 20.29.
Miles 16-20 splits - 8:33, 8:20, 8:35, 8:23, 8:02, (7:46 average for the last .29 miles)
I felt good at the finish and it was a good effort. The weather had a lot to do with it and I only pray that the weather for the Austin marathon will be just as good. If not, then adjustments need to be made at the starting line. I can't force marathons anymore...it just doesn't work.
Stats - 20.29 miles/2:47:04/8:14 pace
Finished 150 overall out of 730 finishers
The goal for the race was to run the first 5 miles as a warm up and then run the final 15 miles at MGP which is 8:00/mile for me. The gun went off and we started off at a pretty good clip before pulling back. The weather was perfect...where were you on December 14th? I was feeling good, but my stomach was feeling weird. I think it was the flopping of my belly that was throwing me off. I had to pee something fierce during mile 4 so I pulled off to a potty. Brian continued on and I chased him down and he slowed a bit for me. That ended up being my slowest mile of the day.
Miles 1- 5 splits - 8:23, 8:18, 8:14, 8:40, 8:26
We started out on the loop portion of the course which had some rolling hills between mile 6 and 11. Nothing major, but enough to make you work a little and break up the monotony. The course was really nice for the most part. We did pick it up a bit for the next 5 miles and got into a really good rhythm.
Miles 6-10 splits - 8:16, 7:59, 8:04, 8:04, 7:56
The next section had us running into a bit of a wind from our side which wasn't too bad. We ran by the Gazelles water stop which was nice. We then headed onto a dirt road section which kind of sucked because the rocks were kind of big, but not too bad since it was only about half a mile long. The road on the other side was really rough, almost like a pebble tec surface and was hard on the feet. We had to run straight into the wind for about a mile before returning to the out and back section. That brought back some bad Dallas memories, but I fought through it.
Miles 11-15 splits - 7:56, 8:04, 8:05, 8:06, 8:15 (wind mile)
I was feeling tired after the windy mile and it showed in my last set of splits. Brian went ahead of me with between 3-4 miles to go. I was going through another bad spell, but kept plugging away. With about two miles to go I ran into Kelly and we ran each other in along with another man we met in that spot. I came out of my spell with two miles to go and had a nice strong finish. The course was about a quarter mile long and my Garmin had the course at 20.29.
Miles 16-20 splits - 8:33, 8:20, 8:35, 8:23, 8:02, (7:46 average for the last .29 miles)
I felt good at the finish and it was a good effort. The weather had a lot to do with it and I only pray that the weather for the Austin marathon will be just as good. If not, then adjustments need to be made at the starting line. I can't force marathons anymore...it just doesn't work.
Stats - 20.29 miles/2:47:04/8:14 pace
Finished 150 overall out of 730 finishers
posted by Paco at 6:06 PM
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