The gun went off, and I felt pretty good. Solid. I went out well and tucked in with a solid pack of 4 guys. One of them, John Piggott, a really good masters runner, would stay with me for most of the whole race. The early miles flew by, we hit Mile 1 in 5:23, Mile 2 in 5:33, and Mile 3 in 5:37. After Mile 4 (5:40), we caught a couple runners who started out ahead. This always feels great. Working together with a pack of guys and picking off runners. I was the leader of this pack for much of miles 1-8 before it broke up. Mile 5 was also a 5:40 split, and I split 5:35 for Mile 6. I hit the 10K in 34:46. The pack was still together. Mile 7 was yet another 5:40 split, and at this point 2 guys surged ahead from the pack, and I tried to stay as close to them as I could, but for some reason my body wasn't ready to push. I settled and found I was still running with John Piggott. I then just held 5:50 pace for miles 8-11. John and I worked together and talked briefly. He told me he was training for the Akron Marathon and I told him I was training for the Marine Corps Marathon. My 10 Mile split was 56:42(5:40 pace average). Miles 12-13 I struggled to maintain 6 Minute pace and John pulled ahead slightly at this point. I felt like I was jogging the last 2 miles, but I did not have anything in me to run hard at the same time. I still ended up fnishing in 1:15:32, a current best time for me since I've "revived" my running in 2007, and was the 29th male finisher.
All in all, I had a great weekend at Va Beach and am not dissapointed with my performance. I have to be patient, as Beth tells me, the times will come, and again the Goal Race is the Marine Corps Marathon. After the race, Beth and I ate a very delicious brunch at Pocahontas Pancakes. If you ever want to eat at a great breakfast place in Va Beach, then Pocahontas is a must. The service is amazing too. It was great Beth came with me and cheered me on this weekend. We both missed Ashwin though, who loves Pocahontas Pancakes.
Decent week of mileage: 63 miles
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