Friday, November 26, 2010

Pilgrim's Progress 4 Miler Race Report

Todd & I signed up about a month ago for a local 4 mile race on Thanksgiving morning. Up until about the day before the race, my goal was to run about 7:30 pace so I could break 30 minutes. I knew it would be a little challenging but definitely do-able. I really haven't been running much since the marathon so I wanted to see what I could do.

Race swag included long sleeve technical tee, water bottle, and Gu


Our friends, Jay & Sara, were coming into town from Nashville for Thanksgiving and the day before, Sara asked me if we were running any races. I told her about the Pilgrim's Progress 4 miler and she decided to register for it. I ran Boston 2009 with her and a couple other girls but she's been battling a knee injury so I knew she hadn't been running much. Since I wanted to spend a little bit of time with her, my plans of running a fast race went out the window. Once Todd & I met up with Sara & Jay at the race, we decided to just have fun and all run together.

Sara & I before the race
Even though it was only a 4 mile race, I still wore my garmin. I almost regret this decision though because I get frustrated when my garmin says I run longer than the race distance. My mile 1 split was right on but I must have started to weave in and out of people because after that, my garmin said I was running farther. I ran the first 3 miles with Todd, Sara, and Jay but then my competitive side kicked in and I decided to take off for the last mile.

According to my garmin, I ran 4.06 miles in 32:26 which is 8:00 min pace but according to the official race results, I ran 4 miles in 32:26 which is 8:06 pace. I think I'll stick with my garmin splits.

Splits:

Mile 1: 8:31

Mile 2: 8:14

Mile 3: 8:11

Mile 4: 7:05

Extra .06: 0:26

Total time: 32:26

Average pace: 8:00 min/mi


As you can see, I really busted it for the last mile. It was nice to be passing a ton of people at the end of the race instead of being passed. I tend to start out way too fast and die at the end so this was a nice change. Even though I didn't get to run the race I initially hoped to run, I was happy with my results. I was glad to enjoy most of the run with my wonderful fiancee and friends but also kick it up a notch for the last mile and prove to myself that I do have a little bit of speed in me.

Todd & I after the race

Todd, me, Sara, and Jay

The race only cost Todd & I $20 each because we pre-registered at the running store that was organizing the race and it was well worth the money. Not only did we get the long sleeve tee, water bottle and Gu in our packets, we also got finisher's mugs, a coupon for a free loaf of bread from Great Harvest Bread Co, and tons of snacks & drinks. The race was well organized and was even chip timed even though there were only about 500 runners. I definitely want to run this race again next year.

Post-race goodies

2 comments:

Sara said...

Nice! I ran the Flying Feather Four Miler (I really enjoyed it and you get a bottle of wine, but I may give this one a try for a change next year! Happy Thanksgiving! ;)

Amanda@runninghood said...

Sounds like a good race! Happy to find your blog and looking forward to catching up on here. I'm hopefully getting a garmin for Christmas...never run with one before so I'm excited! Congrats on running Boston in 09! It has been awhile for me...04...where did life go?! hope to do it again in 2012