Melbourne Race Report and Numbers

We had a great time in Florida! About the only negative was that they didn't launch the space shuttle on Sunday and I flew back that evening, so I missed it. It would have been something to watch - I could see it from the balcony of our hotel suite. We got to see it close on Friday when we toured the Kennedy ("I want a man on the moon!") Space Center, cool stuff. Anyway the race report:

Lot's of complaining and whining about the conditions from the runners. I like those conditions. The race is early (7:am) sharp, so the sun is just coming up and it was cool - low/mid-40s and VERY windy. Lot's of very fast runners and a lot of them in my age group. Quick start and then a left directly into the wind. The course is almost a rectangle with two causeways that cross the Indian River. The first 4 miles or so are not so protected, so the wind was a factor. 6:08 at the first mile, but the first four were at about 6:12 pace. The wind angled at the back across the first bridge, then along a footpath and through neighborhoods coming back down. I think the thing I had the most trouble with was the pace. It seemed like I was working very hard and about at 8mi I was falling off pace. The second crossing angled directly into the wind was brutal on everyone. You hit mile 12 at the bottom of the bridge and do a 1 mile loop around town and finish. I could only grind out a 1:25 and was slowing the last 5K. Most of the guys I talked said their time was about 2 minutes slower than last year, but last year was a lot warmer.
Conclusion: 5 weeks of training is not enough and I really only had 4 weeks of quality training with the issues I had starting back up. Anyway, I would to target this race last year and come back serious as I will be in the M45-49 AG. Numbers:

Time: 1:25:27 (6:32 pace)
AG Place: 8th
Overall: 32nd
Other: First New Englander

The good news is I would have been third if I had aged up. Legs are surprisingly stiff. Anyway, back to marathon training. I ran 9 today with some moderate intervals, but plan to take it easy next few days and get a long run in this weekend.

Last week's summary is what you would expect - down in Florida with no bike and tapering for the race:

Swim-3200yd, Bike-28mi, Run-46mi

-Kyle