It's been unseasonably hot in the Twin Cities the past two weeks with temps in the 90's and high humidity. We got a bit of a break race morning in that the skies were overcast with a nice breeze. The overcast skies kept the race temperature (70 degrees) from climbing and it felt just fine standing around. But the humidity was a much bigger factor than I thought it would be. I worked up an sweat running one easy warm-up mile. I realized the humidity was going to be a factor despite the cloud cover, but I didn't realize it was going to be as significant of a factor as it actually was. In 2010 the race temp was 60 degrees with low humidity - much better racing conditions for a race of this distance.
I find it's sometimes an advantage having run a race previously, as it provides a frame of reference for me during the race. It can be a psychological advantage if my actual race pace is faster than my previous benchmark as it pumps me up with confidence. But in the same way it's a psychological disadvantage if I find my pace is lagging behind my prior race time, leading to discouragement/panic. I decided beforehand that if I put forth the same effort today that I did in 2010, most likely my time will be slower because of the humid conditions.
The race began on the southwest corner of Lake Harriet, winding counter-clockwise around the lake. On the north side of Lake Harriet the course diverts over to the neighboring Lake Calhoun for a full counter-clockwise loop around that lake before returning to Lake Harriet and a second loop around both lakes. Finally, one last loop around Lake Harriet before finishing near the band shell on the north side of the lake. The course is relatively flat for the most part with the exception that the north lake (Calhoun) carries a lower elevation than Harriet. So the connecting stretch between the two lakes was downhill to Calhoun and back uphill to Harriet. However, the toughest part of the course is on the south end of Lake Harriet where two moderate but consecutive hill climbs. The tough part though is the back side of each hill is a steep decent that forces you to "break" on the way down to avoid a full face plant. The course navigates through this stretch 3 times - mile 1, mile 7 and mile 14. The second time is tough, but the 3rd time your legs are so rubbery that it becomes a bit scary wondering if your exhausted legs are strong enough to keep you from falling flat on your face during the steep decline.
I ran the first half of the race at a fairly steady 6:50-6:55/mile pace. Then my pace slowed about 5 seconds/mile over the second half of the race. However, I ran mile 14 (the 3rd and final passing of the tough hills) in 7:20, my slowest mile of the race, before completing my final mile in 7:15. I could feel myself fading a bit over those last two miles. My body lost a lot of fluid during the humid race. I really noticed it right after the race when I could feel the sweat rolling off my drenched shirt and shorts like a faucet. I was still perspiring heavily 15-20 minutes after the race. It took me almost 8 hours to get my fluids in balance again. I didn't feel very well the rest of the day. I knew it was going to be a humid race, but the impact on my body was much tougher than I expected.
I finished with a time of 1:48:35, almost 2 minutes slower than my 2010 time. Overall I finished 91st among 667 finishers and 4th among 39 in my age group. In 2010 I finished 106th overall among 655 finishers, so the humidity must have affected everyone's time today. Despite the slower time than 3 years ago, I feel satisfied that I ran as well as possible under the conditions. Now it's on to the Twin Cities Marathon next month (October 6th). My first marathon in two years! It's actually a bit scary thinking about it, but all marathons scare me because I know the pain that's coming around the 18-20 mile mark and I don't want to give in to it where my overall race time is negatively compromised. Grinding out those final miles while trying to maintain my race pace requires unbelievable mental toughness. The kind of toughness you can't just assume will be there when you need it. That's the scary part of a marathon. After 2.5 hours of hard racing, your body wants to shut down, but there are still 5 tough miles to go. You worry that you can't find the mental toughness needed when you get there. Can I sustain my race pace through the tough miles, or will I succumb to the physical punishment and compromise my race performance? Should be fun!
Race Results:
