Cowboy Hazel

I ran a lousy race this morning. It was hot, I was short on sleep, and I started out too quick. That trifecta led to a 24:50 four miler, a 6:12/mile pace – slower than my 10K pace and only 7 seconds per mile off my half marathon pace.

Helen and I met up with Antonio up here in East Harlem and we all jogged the three miles down to the start together. We were running slow, but already sweating heavily by the time we got into the corral. There was no shade there and we continued to roast.

Mercifully, they made the speeches short and started the race right on time. I started out running what I thought was a controlled, sustainable pace, not really looking at my watch. I would have guessed around 6:15s or so. Nope. I hit mile 1 at 5:49. I was still feeling okay and decided not to reel it in. Mile 2 was 5:54, but towards the end of it I had begun to fall apart.

Taking the turn off the transverse and onto West Drive I felt my stride break and I just couldn't get back into gear. Mile 3 was a disaster, a 6:38. People were passing me left and right, and I just wanted to quit. I came pretty close, but then I realized it would be a big hassle to get to the other side of the park, that I'd probably have to run anyway, so I just kept going.

Antonio passed me with about half a mile to go, looking strong. I rallied a bit, knowing that it was almost over and being on a downhill stretch, finishing with a 6:15 mile.

The 67.8 AG% that I ended up with was the worst I've run in a long time. Ouch. Hopefully next weekend's marathon goes better...