Thinkabit Blogabit

I — along with fellow Winchester Highlanders Carrie, Lee, Dan and Tom — trekked 35 minutes north to Derry, New Hampshire for the ever “moderately challenging” Boston Prep 16 Miler.  The course remains the most difficult road course in New England.  The day was absolutely beautiful.  Near 10 deg F at the start, rising a bit from there, and no wind.  Brilliant sunshine lit our tour of scenic New England farmlands and large-lot homes. Well-organized and great food at the finish (high on my list of criteria for choosing a race ).  My running buddies all did great, and I’ll let them speak for themselves.  My story …

My performance was better than expected.  Not in great shape (ran my first 15+ mile run last weekend, in the bitter cold with Eben), and about 10 pounds overweight (at some point, I’ll have to admit that this is now my normal weight).  Haven’t run a race since last April’s Boston Marathon.  Managed to run negative splits, despite the fact that the second half of the race is more challenging than the first (the logo gives the course profile).  The CoolRunning results show:

5 Mile  Pace  10 Mile  Pace  Half Ma   Pace   Final   Pace

38:56  7:48  1:17:41  7:47  1:42:18  7:49 2:02:25  7:40

… with a 6:30 last mile, by some miracle.

Not that I need this, but the race gave me a wee motivation toward getting in better shape for…  dare I say it … a marathon this spring.