It has been a couple months since my last race. As part of my training for the Folsom Blues Half Marathon, I thought it'd be good to do a couple races to see where I was race speed wise (I run a minute or more faster per mile during a race than during training). Two races really stuck out as good choices: The Run for Courage 10K which I've done the past two years and the Rock the 80's 8 Miler because the theme would be enjoyable and the distance was a bit longer. I had wanted to do the Buffalo Stampede, but I was out of town that weekend.
Last weekend, I did an eleven mile training run, so I wasn't worried about the 8 mile distance. Weather here had turned cooler the past couple days, so I was pretty sure that the conditions would be good. The big question would be what speed could I maintain for the full eight miles. Having not done a race recently, I didn't have a good thought on that. I figured if I averaged under 8:30/mile for the run, that'd be success (for a total of 68 minutes). As a stretch goal, I hoped to beat 67 minutes.
I opened up with a first mile of 8:10 well under my goal pace. This past year, when my second mile has been faster than the first, I've had a really good run. That was not the case for the Rock the 80's run but it was close as I finished the second in 8:13. The entire course was flat, so terrain was not the cause of any mile by mile changes. I slowed a bit on my way to the halfway point rattling off miles of 8:24 and 8:25. Halfway through, every mile was below my targeted 8:30, and I was 48 seconds ahead of pace putting my stretch goal of 67 minutes into play.
Additionally the field was not overly deep and the divisions were cut by 5 years (instead of 10), so midway through I thought there was a chance that I'd finish in the top 3 for the 30-34 division. I could see a guy ~100 feet ahead of me that I thought was likely in my division, so I decided to try to keep up with him for the second half of the run.
This required me to pick back up the pace, and my fifth and sixth miles were both completed in 8:12. The guys I was chasing retained roughly the same lead (I gained on him at times, but then he'd pull back ahead). I ran my fastest mile of the race for the seventh mile at 8:05, but he was still getting away.
We ran through the start area roughly 7.3 miles into the 8 mile run (over the mats where they recorded our time and place at that point) and then continued towards the finish line (not visible). About a quarter mile after that, we joined up with another group of runners (5Kers is what I assumed). At about a quarter mile to go, there was a division in the course, and I started making the turn to the right (towards where I thought the finish line was) when I heard a volunteer shout "8 milers straight ahead". I figured the turn out must have been for the 5K, so I changed course and headed straight. When I passed 8 miles on my GPS watch with no finish line in sight, I knew something was not right. At 8.5 miles, I knew that I had been directed wrong and thought about heading back, but made the decision to continue the loop (I realized at this point I was approaching the 6 mile marking) and do an extra 2.5 miles since it'd be good practice for my half marathon in four weeks.
I completed the eighth mile even faster than the seventh: 7:52. Very surprised I was able to break 8 minutes per mile that deep in the run. I slowed a bit once I realized that I had missed (or been misdirected from) the finish line, but still averaged 8:35 and 8:32 for miles nine and ten (and a 8:23 pace for the final half mile). Overall I finished averaging 8:16/mile, but officially my pace was 10:51 for my time over eight miles:
Turns out that I was right about having a chance to finish in the top 3 for my division. When I crossed the mats at 7.3 miles in, I was third for my category. Based on the sum of my times for the first 8 miles I ran, I would have beaten the guy who officially finished third in the division by just under a minute. Had I not been misdirected, I would have gotten my first age group medal, and it'd be one of these:
I'm disappointed on missing out on the third place finish. I really think I was directed the wrong way, but I suppose that I could have misunderstood. I think it was a bit odd that the course combined in the same area 8 mile runners that were working on their sixth mile with those working on the last mile (the runner I thought were 5Kers from above were actually 8 milers). I really think there should have been a divider between the two groups to make sure everyone goes the right way. The second time around, there were additional volunteers at the fork and they were directing runners to the sixth mile and the eighth mile appropriately. I still think signage and a divider would have been better.
I do wonder if I was the only person mis-directed or if there were others. With the additional volunteers and direction the second go-around, I think there had to have been others.
I created my normal badge for the run, but I'm giving myself credit for the ten and a half miles I ran and the pace I averaged over it. This performance has definitely given me hope that I'll set a new half marathon personal record next month:
Ignoring the directional confusion, I had a good time at the Rock the 80's run. I enjoyed the nostalgic music and many of the runners (not including me) were dressed for the part. The volunteers along the course were very encouraging, and except for the final turnoff, forks in the course were well marked with helpful volunteers and I never really felt like I didn't know which direction I was going next. All things considered, I'd probably run this race again next year if offered.
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