Short one here, since it's long since come and gone. Meredith, her dad, and I met our friend Carrie up in Dublin for the race. We had a few moments to chat before the start, and then we were off for the third year in a row!
Last year, this race was one of my first run trials in my Ironman training, and I averaged just over an 8 minute pace. I wasn't very confident in my ability to break that, but I thought I'd give it an honest try. The weather wasn't too bad compared to some years on Thanksgiving in Ohio, though there was a little on-and-off cold drizzle.
In the first mile, this race is pretty congested. I ended up running just under a 9 minute pace for the first mile, which pretty much shot any hope of a PR right there. For the next three miles, I ran a very consistent 8:30 pace. While it's not the pace I ran last year, I was pretty happy with it, since last year's race was two months into my IM training plan. It seems like I've got a better base than a year ago.
That has also been reinforced with my biking, where I definitely feel stronger on the trainer. I think that's where I have the most room to grow this year, so I'm excited to see my legs responding. I did a late-night trainer session last night, and ended up averaging 16 mph. For me, that's a pretty good pace, and if last year's numbers are any indication, that should translate to a few mph higher out on the roads.
