IRH Thanksgiving Day Race Results

Distance                 5.0 Miles

Overall Place           80 / 924

Division Place         14 / 55

Gender Place           69 / 485

Total Time           34:47 (6:57/mile)

 

I felt better than expected during this race considering my lackluster training this time of year. I guess the climbing I've been getting in on the trails has helped my hill running. 

The first mile was pretty crowded, so even though it was flat early on, I only managed a 7:28 mile. 

Mile 2 was all uphill and I was happy to knocking it out in 7:20 while still feeling in control. 

Mile 3 doesn't have any big climbs, but a few rollers. I ran a 6:52 and had lots left in the tank for a quick downhill run to finish. 

Mile 4 is all downhill and while that sounds fun, it's hard to maintain control when gravity wants to pull you faster. I was actually passing people coming down the hill and ran mile 4 in 6:36.

I was still feeling strong, so I decided to increase my pace slightly and then wait until there was only about a 1/4 mile left before going into a full sprint. This turned out to be a good strategy as I passed two guys at the end that pulled the trigger too early when they passed me with a mile to go - they just ran out of juice. I ran the last mile in 6:24. 

I shaved almost two minutes off of my time from this race in 2010, so despite feeling out of shape and slightly heavy, I'm happy with the results. As always, nice job by the Iroquois Hill Runners and Swag's crew.

After the race, Jessica and the kids were pretty cold, so we quickly hopped in the car and headed over to my parent's for a Thanksgiving lunch....best post-race meal ever!