Another Wednesday, another tempo run in Lynn Woods and another mad dash through Boston’s rush hour traffic. I made it to the woods 10 minutes before the start of the race despite leaving work 15 minutes early. Sometimes I wonder if trying to run a race from work is worth the stress involved in getting there. Once the run starts I forget all about the horrendous drive so I guess it’s worth it, maybe.
There was another good turnout for the race (127 runners) including the Lynn Woods Crew and several folks from GAC. I thought I might see Michelle or Emily this week but they weren’t there. I did see Paul Y who had just finished up a 2.5 mile warm up. I was happy to catch up with him after the race. It’s the first time our paths have crossed since Northern Nipmuck in early April. A cool guy and a fast runner!
It was wet, humid and still misting when the race started. The eighth mile course was mainly on dirt fire roads with one extended section of single-track on Boulder Path. The footing was good overall and really not much mud considering it has been raining off and on for four days. I went out slow like I have in the past few runs here. I just wanted to run 8 something pace and not get caught up in racing other runners.
After passing several runners in the first 1.5 miles I found myself in no-mans land. There was a large group of runners about 50 yards ahead of me. Their pace was just slightly faster than mine and I considered pushing it hard to close the gap and then try to hang with them for the rest of the race. Notice I said considered. After I thought about it, I decided to just stick with the plan and run even splits even if it meant running alone.
I ran 8:50s most of the way and then picked it up for the final mile. There were two runners ahead of me that I could have run down but I resisted the temptation to go all out and just brought it home with a strong, steady finish. Next week is Tour de Lynn Woods II. I am going to talk with the RD to see if he’ll let me set the course. If so, you’ll be in for a real treat!
Hope to see you there….
I hate no mans land but end up there way to often anyway.
ReplyDeleteChris, me too, almost every race it seems.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean....it is like no one runs my pace..or perhaps I am inconsistant
ReplyDeleteI plan to be there in 2 weeks (July 7th), traffic permitting. Ana
ReplyDeleteLately, I like to settle into "no man's land" in a race. I could just skip the races all together and run alone, but then I'd miss all the socializing before and after!
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