I failed miserably in my quest today to progress from 5:40 down to 5:20 pace at the Frostbite 15K in Raynham. As far as mistakes go, however, it wasn't too bad.
After a 5:24-that-felt-like-5:40 first mile, I decided to "not waste good time", as former Kenyan superstud John Ngugi would say, and maintain my effort level as long as it felt comfortable, which ended up being the entire 9.3 miles. I felt fantastic the entire way and I'd like to think I could have went another 4 miles or so without much added undue diress, but I'll wait for March 18 and the New Bedford 1/2 Marathon to see if that holds true.
For you number crunchers, the mile splits from my trusty Timex were as follows: 5:24.77, 5:16.14, 5:15.89, 5:23.93, 5:22.22, 5:17.71, 5:31.52 (hill), 5:15.39, 6:48.73 (5:13 pace for the last 1.3 miles, no 9-mile split) for a total time of 49:37 and a 5:19 average mile.
Although it deviated from the original plan, I was more than happy with today's effort. Placed me fifth out of 413 to boot, out of the money but good enough to win me a heavy duty, full-length ice scraper, which looks as if it will be getting a bit of use this week. More importantly, for the first time in about 2-1/2 years I'm feeling good, feeling strong and having fun. The fire's starting to heat back up again after smoldering for way too long.
That'll do it for tonight - a fine night I might add - as the Patriots booted by the Bolts and move on to face the Colts in an AFC title tilt next Sunday. Fitting, too, that the game was won on a field goal by Adam Vina, er, I mean Stephen Gostkowski. Hey, a Pats' win is a Pats' win. It doesn't matter who gets the credit.
Quote of the day:
At this rate, I'll be in a home in by the end of the year.
- Greg Ward, who is slowly losing it (read the quote closely and you'll see why)
Photographic proof of me dominating the infamous Italian grinder -- don't dare call it a sub -- from Oliva's Market on my lunch break at PR Running this afternoon. Just how impressive was my maiden mangia-fest with this gargantuan greasepile encased in half a loaf of Italian bread? I finished the entire thing in one sitting, an accomplishment I'm afraid can only be fully appreciated by two faithful readers of this blog, namely Ryan Carrara and Mark Driscoll. They both can vouch for the greasy goodness that only this $3.50 mass-produced Milford marvel can provide. And believe me, it was well worth every penny.
Yes, those are man tights and yes, this is a recent picture. As recent as this morning, actually, in what was my first race of 2007. So far I'm (laughably) undefeated in the new year with a 26:25 win at the Freezer 5 in Sterling. The name of the race was fitting because I'm not sure I've ever been so cold in my life. With temps in the mid-30's, a steady rain and persistant wind, I came up with the bright idea of wearing a singlet, light gloves and the aforementioned man tights. No problems to speak of until 3-1/2 miles when my arms tightened like a vice grip. I imagine this is what rigamortis feels like. Luckily, the 'ol legs didn't experience any problems and I held a comfortable lead through the chute. The finishing time was in the ballpark of what I thought I was capable of running and, more importantly, I felt strong and in control while clicking off some fairly consistent splits. In case you're curious, said splits looked something like this: 5:14, 10:31, 15:45, 21:10, 26:25.
