Neptune Festival 8k

Posted by Steve ()

September 30, 2007

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What a great day for a race! Temperatures in the high 60’s, low humidity and a fast, flat course - if it wasn’t for the strong wind, the conditions would have been perfect.

My goal going in to the race was to run as close to 30 minutes as possible, starting at around 6:00 minute mile pace and holding on for as long as I could. Heading south on Atlantic Avenue with a nice tailwind felt great and I managed to hit the 6:00 goal comfortably. However, it wasn’t long before we were running around the Rudee Inlet loop and heading north with at least 2 miles into a stiff breeze.

Mile 2 was a little quicker (5:56), but the wind was strong and with no-one to draft off I was left to chase down the small pack ahead on my own. I was able to maintain a pretty decent pace, and although my mile splits were slightly slower (6:04 and 6:06), I did manage to chase down 5 or 6 runners before the turn for home.

With less than a mile to go and with the wind at my back, it was just a question of staying strong and fast to the finish. I was wary of the guys behind and several times imagined they were closing on me, but as I approached the finish line I realized I was home and dry. My last mile was the quickest of them all (5:43) and I just ducked under 30 minutes for a finish time of 29:52.

I finished in 9th position overall and was the 2nd runner in the Master’s Division (over 40) - very satisfying considering the wind and a good confidence booster with 4 weeks to go to the Marine Corps Marathon.

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