This was just not nearly as good a race for me as last week, as I was over a minute slower than Brooklyn (27:53, or 8:59/mi, vs. 26:49). I could make a bunch of excuses — it was very crowded on a narrow street, I found myself “stuck” behind slower people, and my right calf is bothering me so I didn’t push it. Bottom line is that I went into this thinking that I just wanted to get through it, and the time showed. There were three positives: first, it’s another 2009 race down. Second, I remained under a 9-minute-mile pace, albeit barely, which is still a big improvement compared to two months ago. Third, I kicked it into a higher gear in the third mile on the long uphill, didn’t drop off once I was at the top, and probably salvaged the sub-9 average as a result.
Oh well - the next one is a 4-miler in three weeks.
3 years ago