USA Track & Field Half Marathon Championships

Half Marathon Championships (Duluth, MN)

Wowzers. Still in a bit of disbelief at how well things went this weekend. It was an unforgettable experience.

Some have heard the race recap in person, but those who haven’t, here’s what I’m sure will become a rambling account of the day…

The plan going into the weekend based on recent results and last year’s results, was definitely don’t lead the race, but be in contact with the leaders to give myself a shot to be competitive. Based on my 1:10 at Dam to Dam, and based on the top 12 last year (which is the number of finishers that receive recognition and awards), I was hoping to crack a spot anywhere from 8 to 12. My coach Ron was more confident in my placing, going so far as to claim that looking at the list of entries that he didn’t see more than five women who were running better than I am right now (no pressure there). He told me to plan on running 1:13 on a good day, and 1:15 on a “bad” day, which is completely crazy when you consider that my PR (before this race) which occurred on this very same course at the same time last year was 1:18:10. BUT… despite a normal amount of nerves and doubts, I was for the most part, confident and comfortable with the plans. I was ready to mix it up near the front.

Race day run-down:
3:30am – rise and shine.
4:15am – dropped off at shuttle bus for my 10 minute/1 mile jog.
4:30am – depart for the start.
5:00amish – arrive at the start where it is dark, cold, and misting. There is a tent for elites to chill, but it’s big enough for about 50 people with about 20 chairs, and there are 200+ of us (156 men and 61 women – arguably the largest field in race history). I grab a towel and sit on the ground, trying to save my legs until warm-up time.
5:30amish – head out to warm up, visit the restroom multiple times (mostly nerves), and then strip my pants and jacket off before doing my final drills and strides.
6:25am – I line up one deep from the start line (I’m going for it), and we’re off!

From the gun, Adriana Nelson is gone. She doesn’t even care! She creates a 15 second gap within the first mile and at one point will lead by nearly one full minute. She’s essentially a non-factor in the race (because she leads throughout by a comfortable margin).

Behind her, a pack has formed. It’s difficult to tell exactly how many women are in the lead pack because I’m right on the heels of the leaders, but it feels like 10-20 of us. Des Davilla, Michelle Frey, Stephanie Rothstein-Bruce, Katie McGregor, Ladia Albertson-Junkas, and a few other full-time pros are cruising together comfortably.

Lead pack around mile 3ish...I'm buried on the opposite side of road from where picture was taken.  If you have an eagle eye, you can see one little toe of my salmon-colored New Balance Revlites on the pavement.

I choose to ignore my watch like the last few races, and instead run by feel and based on strategy. The pack rolls through miles 1-5 as a large mass. Then around the 10k mark, there’s a noticeable shift. The pace quickens and I have a split second to decide if I’m going to go with or hang back and wait to make a move later. I decide I’m in this thing to see what I can do, I’m going with the movers. Des Davilla (US Olympian in marathon and Hanson-Brooks Distance Project athlete) is leading the split, Serena Burla (Mizuno-sponsored athlete), Steph Rothstein-Bruce (Davilla's teammate), and myself are part of the pack that’s moving.

Miles 6-9 see our little pack spread a bit. Des is making a move to start reeling in Adriana. Serena is fighting to keep a gap from forming between herself and Des. And I’m sitting on Rena’s hip, refusing to give an inch because I don’t want to find myself in no man’s land running alone. At this point, I have no idea what’s going on behind me.

At what I think is Lemon Drop Hill (an arched bridge) there’s a sign indicating 4.1 miles to go, I climb the hill and pass Rena. She doesn’t respond. This is good. But just as quickly as that happens, on the backside of the hill, Rothstein-Bruce comes cruising by me. NOOOOOO! It’s at this point that I decide I am not running a good 10 mile race. I am finishing this. She starts to roll by me and I pin on to her. She wants to play, I’m feeling confident and like I still have some gas in the tank, so I’m going to play.

What ensues over the next four miles might be the most epic racing moment/memory in my life. Rothstein-Bruce is making move after move to create a gap, but I’m not letting her go. I remember vividly at the 11 mile mark, her GPS beeps indicating 2 miles to go, and she surges hard… I continue to focus on the fact that I have a real shot at the TOP THREE. It motivates me to push on with her.

We cruise down the cobblestones of downtown Duluth and my legs feel ready to buckle when I hit low spots, but I push on. We’re coming up on one more bridge, the last uphill, before we’ll wind our way around the convention center to the finish line. I think to myself, I’ve been strong on the uphills. If I’m going to make a move, this may be my shot to do it. So we hang a sharp left (which also helps because I’m running on her left shoulder which gives me the inside of the turn), and charge the hill. I don’t create much, but I create a gap.

                                                         Around mile 10-11ish

With about a mile to go, it’s now gut-check time. I made the move, and now I have to finish. I wind my way through the streets, riding the tangent like it’s my job, and suddenly can see Davilla. We’re only a few turns from the finish (although it feels like an eternity), and still no sign of Rothstein-Bruce coming on from behind. I don’t know if I have 2 steps or 20 on her, so when I round the final corner it is all out effort, everything that’s left was getting poured into that final dash to the tape.

I cross the line…in third place. What just happened?! A race chaperone comes to inform me that top three need to immediately report for media and drug testing and I’m whisked away still in a daze. Holy crap. The rest of the morning is a blur of hugs, tears, and smiles with family and friends as we all revel in what just happened. 

I know this recent rash of incredible break-thoughs in my running may not last long, so I am cherishing each race that ends with a result like this one did. I think the biggest pinch-me moment from the incredible weekend might have been as I made my way to my seat from the award stage and MEB KEFLEZIGHI congratulates ME on a great run… What the…? I wish I could say I played it cool, but there was absolutely no chance of that. I’m so appreciative of this experience.

                                                         Olympian Meb Keflezighi

Oh, and now that I've finally looked at my splits is pretty crazy how perfectly they match up with my perceptions of what happened during the race (the moves, the surges, etc). Splits:
5:30, 5:32, 5:30, 5:28, 5:23, 5:18, 5:29, 5:32, 5:34, 5:25, 5:22, 5:19, 5:14

8k Quickie in The Hutch

This past weekend was Water Carnival weekend in my hometown of Hutchinson, MN.  Water Carnival weekend is a summer celebration for the town with carnival rides, parades, and all kinds of community activities.  My folks, who are joggers (that's a soft "j"), had the wild idea to sign up for family division of the Hutchinson Water Carnival 5k/8k road race.  It was Father's Day weekend too and I was going to be visiting my family anyway, so I thought what the heck!  Let's do this!

Turns out my parents ended up with babysitting duties so they, and my nieces, were at the race, but as spectators instead of participants.  So much for the family division competition!

My biggest/littlest fans:  Annika & Juia

The field of competitors was small.  The course was flat and mostly an out-and-back along the river.  The weather was sunny, warm, and HUMID.  Off of the start line, a college guy and I separated from the rest of the field pretty quickly.  We were going out straight into a decent head wind and I couldn't decide if I wanted to use my pace buddy as a wind block or take the lead and see if he would come with.  After a little more than a mile, I opted to take the lead.  Separation occurred relatively slowly, but steadily throughout the rest of the 5-mile route.  I felt okay, but the humidity definitely had an effect on me.  It's tough to sweat and keep cool when the air is thick and damp!

Crossed the line in 26:33 (a PR) with relatively even splits throughout.  My pace buddy was about a minute back.  Side note: I got a kick out of hearing that he was "freaked out" that a girl beat him...freaking people out is always fun.  ;)

 

Coming into the finish

Dam That Was Fun!

Dam to Dam 20k - Des Moines, IA - "Iowa's Distance Classic"

                                      Doing my best to photo bomb during the race

Wow. I'm still in a bit of disbelief of how things unfolded. Going into the event I was feeling a little under-whelmed. I had a few days of sluggish and lethargic recovery runs (I think humidity was playing a big part in this!). I doubted my endurance to an extent (even though this race is less than half-marathon distance). And I had seen the elite entry list and there were some heavy hitters in the line-up.

All that being said, I cruised down to Des Moines on Friday afternoon for packet pick-up and race prep. This was my first out-of-town race where I didn't have a wing-man/support person with, so it was oddly quiet and even more nerve-wracking trying to kill time the night before the race. Despite that, I settled in and eventually got a little bit of shut-eye.

Race morning: shuttle buses were making trips to the start from downtown (finish area) from 5am to 5:45am. I opted to get up at 4:30am, eat my ritual LUNA breakfast, and then do a 10 minute/1 mile shake out run before hopping on the bus. For shorter races, this ritual (suggested for 2 hours before race start) is something that my coach has implemented and I've come to enjoy as a part of my pre-race routine.

Hopped on the bus around 5:10am. By the time I made the trip and waited for the disembarking process, it was 6:10am. Just enough time to hit the port-a-potties, do a warm-up with form drills, and get to the line.

The weather was PERFECT. My guess would be that it hovered around 50 degrees at start time with the sun out, but without much heat to the day. It was windy, which wasn't ideal for the first half of the race when you're running out in the middle of no-where on country/county roads, but I've been in worse and I was just thankful that the rain that had been predicted wasn't coming down.

I stacked up in the second row of racers from the start line behind a pack of four hired-gun professionals (full-time runners who flew in from AZ, NM, and other parts of the country for a chance at the prize purse). One of them had raced for Ethopia in past events, and the others were just as accomplished.  Very intimidating. What made matters worse, is that when the gun fired, the four of them took off like missiles! I hate to admit it, but I had a brief though of..."well, looks like I'm racing for top Midwest prize because those ladies are gone!" But I went out strong, no other women came with me and after that initial thought, I began to think all I needed to do was run steady and smart, and hope that one (or more) of the leaders would falter even a little bit.

I never looked at my watch during this race running instead completely by feel (side note: even though it's killing me, I still haven't seen my splits because I haven't had access to my GPS software).

I ran the first 5-6 miles basically alone. There were still no other women around me, and the dudes were stretched out with few and far in between each one.

Around 10k, I spotted the first of the women from the lead pack who had fallen off the pace. At just about the same time, a group of three college dudes came up on me. Fortuitously I had heard them during my warm-up talking about wanting to run 1:10. I recognized them, and immediately decided to go with them for a shot at 1:10. As we packed up, we moved by my female competitor and she had no response.

Just after the 10k is the first of several decent sized hills. As me and my dude pack moved up the first hill, the dudes splintered! So much for that plan!  One surged ahead, and I decided to let him go. I stayed with guy #2, and guy #3 got dropped. From miles 7-9 I started pulling away from guy #2 and saw the second of the lead women who had fallen off pace.

I knew if/when I caught her, I was going to have to either blow by her, or I was going to have to be ready to battle. As I moved up on her, we approached a corner and she glanced back and spotted me. She accelerated slightly, and I opted to get aggressive and go for the blow by and was successful in passing and immediately dropping her.

2 down...2 still out there, about 3 miles to go. My wheels started spinning, mentally and physically. I was feeling good and decided to start letting it rip. Around mile 9 there's a long gradual uphill that leads to the entrance of nice, shaded park/bike path section of the route. I remembered it from the previous year. Aside from the home-stretch which is a gradual uphill, the next couple of miles were going to flatten out and were a great spot to pick up speed. It was at this point in the race last year that I made my move on Erin Moeller: catching her, but not quite having enough juice to finish her off. That was NOT going to happen this year.

Winding my way through the park, I felt strong and like I was gaining speed. I came off of an extended, rounded, blind corner around mile 10 and spotted lead pack female #3. She looked vulnerable as we approached a short, steep uphill climb.  I didn't hesitate on my move this time, I was going for the kill. I moved up on her quickly, passed her, and didn't look back. I was slightly worried that she might be saving some gas for a strong finish, so I tucked my chin, strengthened my resolved, and kicked up my turnover.

I picked off a few dudes along the way those last two miles and eventually made it to Grand Ave: the home stretch. It's a long, straight, gradual grind uphill for about 1/2 mile until the final 1/4 mile where it flattens out.

Coming down the home stretch (thanks to my old college coach, Dick Lee, and his son Brandon for coming out cheering me on!)

As I hammered toward the finish line, I spotted The Big Clock (official race time)...1:09:55, 1:09:56...I had a shot at breaking 1:10?! I gave it the beans and approached the line. I passed the clock 1:09:58...and then saw that there were 5 different mats at the finish line! Which one was the timer in?! NOOOOO! I thought there was a chance I had broken 1:10 and was ecstatic. Turns out I crossed in 1:10:02 (5:38/mile pace) official gun time, but hell, I hunted down three of the four leaders (winner was Ethopian Belainesh Gebre in 1:08:41) and ran the fourth fastest female time in Dam to Dam history. Not too shabby!

                       Women's Champ - Belainesh Gebre...she's real, real fast

5K Fun - Brian Kraft Memorial Race Recap

So this weekend it was my birthday.  32 years young and feeling like wine...getting better with age!  It just so happened that on the morning of my birthday there was a local, speedy road race:  The Brian Kraft Memorial 5k.  This race takes place around Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, and it is a part of the MN Racing Series, so a lot of teams and athletes show up ready to roll.

Following a disappointing finish in Boston in April, I took an extended recovery period and have been slowly getting back into a training groove.  My mileage has been a bit lower, but quality has been high.  And now that the weather is nice (kind of), and my training crew is out of the Metrodome, we've been hopping on the track to do a little speed work.

And I must say, it has been feeling good.  I've been doing most of my training sessions solo in the mornings before work (5am).  The sun is coming up, the air is cool and calm, and the track is like my own little zen garden.  I've been doing some 200m, 400m, and 800m work and my old track bones, while not what they used to be, have been digging the change of pace.

This weekend's 5k was one of only a few I've done since college.  My previous PR was 17:45, and based on how I've been feeling in workouts, I thought 17:00 was possible and 16:30 would be amazing.

The field of competitors included Katie McGregor (who has been a USATF 10k and 25k champ), Team USA pros, and more than a handful of top amateurs.  From the gun, I knew I had to go out fast.  I had made the mistake in an 8k in March of pacing myself at the beginning of the race, and my MNRED teammates have NOT let me live that down!.  These 5-10k races start and finish before you know it, so this go around, I went out hard and aggressively and was determined to mix it up with the big girls. 

In the first mile, I saw only two women ahead of me:  Katie McGregor and Jamie Cheever.  Cheever was leading with Katie about 10 feet back and me sitting in Katie's back pocket.  Just before the mile-marker I realized that I had more gas to give without feeling too stressed so I left Katie.  At just about the same time, Cheever's shoe came untied and she had to pull out for a quick pit stop (that stinks!).  I ran by Coach Ron and I'm pretty sure he yelled something like, "Easy....", as if I were pushing too hard, too soon.  I chose to be my stubborn self and instead of backing down, I decided to keep driving the pace.  I never once looked at my GPS watch for pace or distance, instead relying on feel, and I was feeling good.

I continued to push through the 2 mile mark, and had no idea where the other women were.  For the time being I just knew I was running alone and still feeling good.  I kept pushing and saw the 3 mile mark.  A tenth of a mile to go and no sound of footsteps.  I cranked up whatever kick I had left and cruised in just over the 16:00 mark.  Official gun time 16:03; chip time 16:02.  (Team USA's Jamie Cheever came in second - 16:38 and McGregor crossed in third - 16:41).

As a bonus, my race was not only good enough for the W, but also a MN age record, and the course record.  With the likes of McGregor and Carrie Tollefson having run this same race, it feels pretty unreal that I accomplished what I did.  However, I must say several of my very talented and smart runner friends/coaches have been telling me lately that if you train right and trust the training, on race day things will fall into place.  Apparently they're right, because things fell into place this weekend.

This was only one race, but it was a good confidence booster going into this weekend's Dam to Dam 20k.  The question mark will be my endurance.  As I mentioned, I feel like my speed has been sharpened lately with the track workouts, but the mileage has been low.  The field is stacked for D to D, so I'll have to be cautious about starting too aggressively.  In the same breath, I'm super fired up to take on another race and see what I can do!

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BooneCrusher 12-hour Adventure Race

This winter I decided to focus on running.  If you know me this probably seems like an idiotically obvious statement, but what I mean is that I opted to fore-go including myself on the summer calendar of my adventure racing team (GearJunkie/WEDALI).  One of the only races I committed to was the season-opener race down in Boone, IA.  A 12-hour event called the BooneCrusher.  So this past weekend, my GJ/WEDALI teammates and I packed up our plentiful gear and headed south to "Go for Broke, or Be Broken" (the race slogan).

Moving on to the race itself... I'll try break it down by section.

Section 1 - Trek. The course started out with a trek section that included a long road-run out-and-back that took teams up and out of the river valley area, and then back to the Seven Oaks Resort ski area.  The guys were nice enough to load me up with an extra pack for the most of the road-running section so I could get some extra run training in.  ;) 

Section 2 - Bike.  Single-track, technical mountain biking. Not the most difficult I've ever seen, but not the easiest.  And although I've been known to threaten to throw my bike off of cliffs while struggling to stay upright on winding, greasy single-track trails, I think I did all right.  My teammates are much better bikers, but were patient and encouraging throughout the section and we were able to maintain a lead on the competition despite having to fix a flat tire at the very end of the section.  Oh and at the very end, we got to bomb down a legit ski hill on our bikes.  Super fun!

Section 3 - Bike.  Road biking, mostly gravel and hilly.  When you think of Iowa, you think of flat farmland.  That was not the case with this race.  There were plenty of hills, and lots of gravel.  Flat tire number 2 happened on this leg, and someone (not involved with the race) stole one of the checkpoints from it's location, but other than that, a pretty uneventful section.

Section 4 - Trek.  We pulled into this section essentially tied with two other teams (Wild Hares and Inspire), but Biz's magical ability to sniff out checkpoints, along with our teams good fitness, allowed us to separate from the field throughout the tough bushwhacking section.

Section 5 - Paddle.  We ended the trek back by our bikes, but instead of hopping on our wheels, we packed our bikes into the canoes and took off down the river.  The water levels were decent and the flow was good, so even though we were bucking a serious headwind, we were able to knock out the approximately 9 mile paddle section in under 2 hours.

Section 6 - Trek.  We unloaded our bikes from the boats, but before we hopped back on the saddle, we had a quick trek loop, mostly on roads.  The day was heating up by now, and running on the open cement recreation trail was taking its toll on everyone.  We were running low on fluids and looking forward to wrapping this section and getting back to our bikes (with water bottles).

Section 7 - Bike.  We came back to the transition area, hopped on our bikes, and PSSSSST...flat tire number three.  The dudes fixed it lickety-split and we were back on the road, until PSSSST...flat tire number four.  Replacement number two in place, when PSSSST...flat tire number five!  All on the same bike, same tire.  The guys worked as fast as they could to change each tire, but it was hot, we were now almost completely out of liquid, and we could see other teams starting to catch up.  Finally after three changes, we got back on the road.  Now we just had to pray for no more flats because we were out of spare tires (and had been when we had flat #5, fortunately one of our competitors, the Gnome Hunters, were in transition at the same time as us and offered up one of their spare tubes).

Section 8 & 9 - Bike.  Section 8 was supposed to be a trek, which I needed.  I had been holding my own pretty well all day on the bike (especially considering I hadn't biked all winter long), but the day's efforts were starting to wear on me and I could have used a trek section (my strength).  But because the race was taking longer than expected, the race director informed us that we could bike section 8 instead of trek it.  Makes for a much faster effort, but my bike legs felt like jelly.  We picked up all of the section 8 points, and now it was just a long ride (picking up a few points along the way) back to the finish.  For the last 30 minutes or so I relied on my teammates to help me mentally and physically power through to the finish.

When we finally arrived back at the start/finish location, we were the first 12-hour team to arrive, and we had cleared the course (found all checkpoints).  It took 11 hours for us to finish, and it wouldn't have been possible without some excellent teamwork, navigation and perseverance.  I feel extremely lucky to have found a place on the GearJunkie/WEDALI roster.

Kudos to race directors, Jerrett Fried and Steve Oberbroeckling, and all of their wonderful volunteers who put on a first-rate show.

Boston 4/15/13

Preface:  everything in this post is trivial compared to the horrific, senseless acts of violence at the end of the marathon.  My heart goes out to all of the people who suffered injury or worse due to explosions. There has been a saying/quote going around that I think sums it up best:  "If you're trying to defeat the human spirit, marathoners are the wrong group to target."  

That being said, in an effort to keep on, keepin' on, here's a post about my experience... 

                Smiles were aplenty BEFORE the race...
 
So it's done.  It's over.  It's in the books.  With big expectations and visions of a PR (personal record), I set off for the Boston Marathon this past weekend.  After a winter illness setback and a disappointing effort at the Senshu International Marathon in February, I felt like I had done everything right from mid-February to race day to get myself in respectable racing shape. 
 
First up, before the race, the technical meeting (a meeting to inform all male & female elites of the race day sequence of events and "rules of play").  Sitting in that room with all of those heavy hitters was a super fun experience, and something I hope to replicate in the future.  Water bottle staging was next, then it was off to the hotel for final prep and a night of restless sleep before race morning.
 
Special buses took elites to the start, escorted by a full police motorcade stopping traffic for us.  Nice.  Sat around in a small church, staying warm and getting my mind right before race time.  I felt good, felt confident.  I had a race plan based on my fitness (not quite 100%, but within striking distance of that 2:45 PR) and the course elevation (those tricky hills).  If I stuck to my plan, I should have a good day. 
 
9:32am.  Game on.  Luckily the field of elite women went out tentatively so I got to run with the big dogs for a couple of miles.  Felt easy, breezy because we started out with a downhill.  I passed through the 5k about 5 seconds off my planned time.  Sweet!  Kept rolling, feeling strong and fit and hitting all of my pace markers until the half-way point.  From 13 to 17ish, the first couple hills, I started gaining on the two runners in front of me and I felt GOOD!  Then from 19 to 20 the wheels kind of feel off.  21 to the finish was probably the longest, worst 5 miles I've raced to date.  I had eaten a bit during the race to this point, and been drinking a combo of water and electrolytes at every station, but my energy just disappeared.  My legs weren't cramping, but I started getting tunnel/starry vision like I might faint at any second.  Not ideal for running.  This seems to be a trend, which ticks me off to no end...more about this later.
 
I put everything I had into those last five miles, but it was pretty pathetic.  I slogged across the finish line about 15-seconds under 2:51. 
 
So...am I disappointed? Beyond what I can explain. This was a bitter, bitter pill to swallow that days later still gives me a stomachache.  I was given an amazing opportunity to start with the elites and make a statement in the world of running, and I feel like I pretty much blew it.  Will I be salty about this and replay every moment of the race for days (and likely weeks to come)?  Yup.  Will I re-examine my training for necessary adjustments?  Yup.  But I think the biggest consequence and most lasting effect will be that this disappointment has ignited a fire in me.  For two years I have basically enjoyed constant improvement with my marathon results.  I set a few lofty goals and I achieved them.  That's easy to handle.  Now this year, I've been hit with two back-to-back sub-par performances where I didn't achieve my goals (Japan being the first sub-par performance).  I feel like this is a golden opportunity to test how I'm going to react when things don't go well.  I'm not going to pretend like I'm not still sulking around, I am.  But I'm also recovering, looking at my racing/training calendar, and getting fired up for my next race. 
 
Running might seem like a silly and trivial thing to most, but it has become one of my greatest passions.  And to accept mediocrity in this passion simply won't do.  I know I have a few good racing years left in these legs and I will continue to push the limits of what my body can handle.  

Oh, and I should mention...racing in Boston is amazing!  The crowds, the race organization, the expo, basically everything, is first-class awesome.  AND my buddy Pete from the orienteering club, and ALL six of my MN RED club mates had great races.  Kudos to them!  

                     Pete and me on race morning...Pete killed it!

Irish Run 8k

This will be a quick one, just like the race.  Boston is now 3 weeks away so there won't be much fitness gained from here on out, it's all about sharpening up, tapering properly, and getting my legs fresh for the big day.  In an effort to do just that, my MN RED teammates and I raced the St. Paul Irish Run 8k this past weekend.  The race marks the kick off of the USATF race series.  Since I've never been a member of a team, I'm not sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure if I run fast, that's good for all parties involved.

So, the race recap:  this was a 5 mile race.  I haven't raced such a short distance in a long time.  From the gun, I didn't have the confidence to go pedal to the floor because I wasn't sure how my body would react to the quicker tempo.  At the two mile mark I realized I was essentially half-way to the finish and wasn't in nearly enough pain.  I needed to push it.  I did and my last three miles were progressively faster:  5:41, 5:34, and 5:31.  I ended up coming in at 28:08 and 2nd place female among a speedy field.  I maybe would have had a chance at the "W" if I would have ignored my watch, turned off my brain, and raced how I normally race (pin on to the leader and hang on for dear life!).  But it was a good workout and a great lesson in racing.

Post-race, a couple of my training partners (shout out to Doug and Melissa) and I regrouped and put in a 5.5 mile hilly, tempo run to simulate the end of Boston (marathon).  It was great.  The harder, faster effort of the 8k took enough out of my legs that they had that 20-mile feeling, but without the 20 miles!  We made decent time on the effort, averaging about 6:20/mile pace.  I'll need to be faster if I want to come in around 2:44:37 (my Boston goal time), but the fact that this effort didn't destroy me was a confidence builder.

        Photo op from the race.  We'll call this one:  game face & bad hair.  ;)