Sunday, March 30, 2008

Around the Bay road race (30k) results

Time 2:38

10 k splits: 56 min, 53 min, 49 min(!)

Interesting event along the run:

- I chatted with a fellow runner who had a IM Lake Placid Jersey. It turned out he was the driver for the mechanic who fixed my bike last year when I did Lake Placid. What a small world. I ran faster and passed him. I wished I got his name and thank him for helping me out
- at 20 k mark, a lady complained that she forgot her gel. I gave her mine
- another lady ran 60 km the day before and ran 10 km on the hills before running this race (30 km). CRAZY! Her pace was pretty fast as I catched up to her at 20 km. She is training for those 100 milers (180 km) run.

The course is set out that the first 20 k is flat and there are 6 k of rolling hills with one large climb at the end and 4 km downhill going back. Look at my splits, my pace was very well planned and consistent through the race even with the hills at the end.

There is a huge climb at 26 k. I drove around the course on Fri and miss this climb. Opps. Before climbing, you have a whole view of the hill. When I saw that and saw all the runners climbing, I just smile. I know it would be a huge challenge. I kept the pace steady and keep moving up...(crank it like it hurts)

Once at the top, the last 4 km is a slow descent back to the starting point. I really wanted to slow down. 4 km for me equates to 20 min. I just kept counting down until hitting the finish line.

After I picked up my medal and my food, I sat around and watched the finishers. There was father with two daughters. I struck up a conversation. He was waiting for his wife that was a walker.

She must have been out there for 4-5 hours. The kids were about 10-12. I was wondering how great was it to have the whole family waiting for her to finish. It would be great inspiration for the kids and an awesome family event. I couldn't even put in words to describe it.

Seeing all the finishers made me wonder what they were training for. Some run for their family, some are raising money for cancer or other charitable cause, some run for fun, some run to compete. Each one of them who cross the finish line has their own story. And today we were toeing on the line to tell the story.

I analyze on my race result. I will explore that in a later post. I am really happy about my splits. I guess my training is heading the right direction.

Right now my mind is shutting down and I need rest.

I hope everyone has a as great weekend as I did =D

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice descending splits, Cliff!

Kewl Nitrox said...

And some run to run. :-)

Bolder said...

thanks for linking write2fight.com Cliff. it would be great if you could tell your story on the blog -- we need to hear from the survivors!

and, i'm so glad you are one of them.

be well, Greg

Aaron said...

Nice splits, Cliff. Looks like you did indeed crank it until it hurt.

And you're right - there's nothing like having the family at the finish line waiting for you - it's just important to tell them WHERE to wait for you. I spent over an hour at IMLP searching for mine at the finish. :)

Afternoon Tea With Oranges said...

Awesome run, Cliff!

Darren said...

Cliffy!! VERY impressed with your descending splits!!
Sounds like a great day and as usual your awesome attitude was shining through - excellent job!

I'll email you details for your LT test - more suffering - yay!

Robin said...

Small world, indeed.

Nice job on your splits!!!!

brendaj said...

Great race report and split times!

Spokane Al said...

Wow - what a great race result. And like others said better than me, your negative splits were very impressive!

Jessica said...

Excellent negative splitting there! Nice work!!

Thomas said...

That's some nice pace, Cliff, and I like the fact that you got faster as the race went on. Well done!

AddictedToEndorphins said...

cliff, you rock:o)
Great splits, run, attitude, and great training!

Rachel said...

Great run! Nice job!

CR said...

Awesome job, Cliff! You continually impress me with your abilities!

Michael said...

What a great job at getting faster as the raced progressed, well done! Enjoy some R&R now!

ShirleyPerly said...

Excellent job, Cliff!!

Jen in Budapest said...

Hey Cliff. Sounds like you did great. Impressive.People watching is always a lot of fun. I would love to have family greet me after my first sprint tri in July. But then there's always the blogging community who root and cheer all around the world :D

Way to go!!!!