Sunday, June 17, 2012

Race Recap: Steamboat Classic 4 mile

Setting goals can be scary.
Smashing them is so darn fun!

I'll never win a race, but I always aim to improve my own personal standings and performance.  I thrive off numbers.  I always review my past racestats and overly abuse the 'pace calculator' app on my iPhone.  I just can't help it.  So in preparing for this year's Steamboat, I pulled up my 2011 stats...
Time 35:55 (8:59 pace).
Ranked 1095 overall, 29 in my age group
Almost instantly, I set my goals for the 2012 Steamboat to run the 4 miles under 35 minutes, rank under 1000 overall and make the top 25 in my division.

Hubby and I arrived on event grounds around 6:15 am.  I met up with the Sole Sisters for our group photo, and then warmed up as I jogged back to the car with the camera.  After just one mile, I could tell it was going to be a hot one.  The air was sticky and temps were already over 70 degrees with a bright blazing sun overhead.

 Sole Sisters before the race!

I got into the lineup a little late and before I knew it the action started with a silent flag drop.  With over 5000 runners lined up (no corrals), this race is known to have a congested start.  Surprisingly, I had a pretty smooth start and made it around that dreaded first right turn without a problem.  My legs felt good and I tried to keep my pace just outside my comfort zone. I wanted every mile to be sub-9 pace.

The course is really flat, essentially an L-shaped out and back, with a nice downhill at the end.  The turnaround area is always fun in a local race where you know a lot of people. I was pretty focused, but loved hearing the "Go Jess" calls from fellow runners. Out of breath, all I could muster was a hand wave back. On the way back to downtown, crowds were very encouraging and the sprinklers delightful.  As I cruised back into downtown, I couldn't believe it was over already. I kicked into high gear down the final chute and was oddly disappointed with how much gas I had left.  Oh-well, lesson learned. 
Mile 1 - 8:31
Mile 2 - 8:45
Mile 3 - 8:39
Mile 4 - 8:35
Finish: 34:33 (8:38 pace)
This is my fastest avg pace ever in a race!
#936 out of 3311 overall
#25 out of 236 in my Age Group
* ALL GOALS MET! *
This is my my stopwatch time.  For some reason, Steamboat and I don't seem to have a good relationship over the years - my time is always messed up. This year was no exception. For some reason, my chip didn't register when I crossed the start line (but the finish recorded thankfully!).  So all the race has available is my gun time, no accurate chip time. Boo.

The best part of Steamboat is the post-party in Riverfront Park.  It was toasty and packed this year, but we stayed until the free beer quit - roughly 10am, so we got a good 2.5 hours of recovery beer! Woo-Hoo! 
Serious celebrating here!
 My friend Delisa finished 11th overall with a time of 24:16.  She's amazing like that.
And I got to reunite with my Ragnar Ultra Chicks!

21 comments:

  1. Nice job!! You are getting faster and faster!!

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  2. Wow! Great job crushing your old time. You are fast girl!

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  3. So awesome!!! Great job! Every year I say I'm going to run a race that I ran the previous year to try and beat my time but they always either change the course (so not a great comparison) or it conflicts with something! Awesome job on fastest average pace!!!!!!

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  4. Congrats on a HUGE PR!!! :)

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  5. look at you! absolutely inspiring and AWESOME!!!

    great race day pics too!

    Can't wait for the challenge tomorrow, I'm ready to go and shed a few extra pounds!

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  6. Great goals to set and accomplish!

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  7. Way to get those goals Jess!!! And of course while looking fabulous!

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  8. Way to go! That is incredible! Making your goals - and breaking them - is such an awesome feeling!

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  9. Great job, lady! Congrats on meeting your goals!!! :)

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  10. Great job Jess! You really rock, way to smash your goals!!

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  11. Nice 4 miles! I love the "odd" race distances. We have a 3.75 miler at Thanksgiving that's fun to run, but not flat enough for me.

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  12. Great job meeting all of your goals for the race!

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  13. Congrats on smashing those goals!

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  14. This is fantastic! Congratulations on an awesome run!

    It's so awesome that you have a group like Sole Sisters, I really wish we had a group of women like that in my area. Maybe it's time for me to start one...

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  15. WooHoo!! Love Love Love your running skirt!!

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  16. That's awesome! Great job!

    Sarah
    www.thinfluenced.com

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  17. I just found your blog and really enjoy it! Way to go on meeting all your goals for this race!! I ran this race too, and it wasn't just you....my Garmin time and my official time weren't even close to matching!!

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I appreciate your feedback and comments!