Yesterday' sunset stampede in Asheville was supposed to be a slow long training run. My goal was to simply finish. I told my wife (who was to meet me at the finish line) to expect a finish of somewhere between an hour and a half to two hours. I havent spent too much time training on hills and I had my concerns about my endurance....it didnt help that i read a race report from the famed Kenyan runner (and 2003 Sunset Stampede winner) David Kipngetich in which he stated “I liked the race....The way it was organized-excellent. But the problem was the course; it was so hard. Out of all the events that I’ve run, I think this was the toughest.”
The Kenyan was right....it was a brutal course....but somewhere along mile five of the race (my thoughts of treating this race as a slow training run changed (it helped that the remaining miles were downhill). With each mile my confidence increased as reflected by my splits:
Mile 1 8'11
Mile 2 8'06
Mile 3 8'22
Mile 4 8'24
Mile 5 8'52
Mile 6 7'15
Mile 7 6'39
Mile 8 6'59
Mile 9 6'58
Mile 10 7'40
Time 1'17'24 (Garmin) 7'44 Pace/Official Time (1:18'01)
Tied for 17th Overall
Age Group 4th
Overall Im really happy with my results and I plan on running the Sunset Stampede again next year. It was a great race to build on in anticipation of the Philadelphia Marathon in the fall.
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1 comment:
Good job and good post. It was a little hot and humid out there this year, but the Stampede is always a blast. It was my third.
Last year I would have been a little closer behind you at 82 minutes. This year I didn't quite have it and chugged in at 90 minutes.
Best regards & good luck in Philly.
dd
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