There will always be faster, stronger, better...

Today was the second time I ran the Naples On The Run 20K.  For some reason, I thought it was the third, but maybe that's because it follows generally the same route as our long Saturday runs.

20K is right around 12.42742 miles (-ish), so it's a good gauge to see where you are in half marathon training.  Wanting to PR at the Naples Half in January, I wanted to race it smart.  Unfortunately, I don't really have much of a grasp on racing smart.

The main theme was that I really didn't want to start out too fast and not be able to hold on - which is a frequent issue with distance.  Michelle wasn't feeling well enough to come to the race, so it was me and Christy covering the distance.  We passed Lowdermilk Park (the usual Saturday starting place) just shy of 2 miles, so I tried to tell myself that we were really just starting then.  I told Christy just to look at it like our normal Saturday run, but that someone stole our cars so we had to run all the way to NOTR.  I don't think she found it a very funny suggestion. 

Between 2 & 3 I had a little back pain on my lower right side (probably the stupid mattress) but otherwise felt good.  That good feeling held through mile 7, which I was really happy about.  Right around mile 8, I had a Clif Shot and we turned back from Gordon to Gulf Shore.  At that point, Christy was ready to slow it a bit.  I had initially said that if I feel good around 9, then I would push it, but since I didn't want to slow down at 8, I figured it was a decent time to break off.  4.5 miles is a maintainable distance.  So, I squeezed the trigger a little and sped up.  It felt good, especially as I was passing people.  There was a little back and forth around the water stops but I eventually caught those who passed me and didn't let them catch me again.

I felt thirsty between the last 2 water stops, but other than that it was a really good run.  I don't like being cold, but was probably dressed a little too warmly for the last half of it.  But I'd always rather be too hot than too cold.

But I was POOPED!  Came home, unloaded the car of all the timing stuff with Shawn, ate lunch, and took a LONG nap.  Couldn't stay awake for the Eagles game, but it didn't seem like I missed much.  I woke up and saw the 14-14, then the field goal, then the Eagles lose it once again.  Sucks that we're still paying for the Season Ticket, but I guess you always take that gamble... especially with the $$$ that they have spent to buff up the team this year. 

Anyhow, the moral of the story is that while my time for the 20K wasn't fast by any good Naples runner standards, it was a PR for me!  2:04:58.  There will always be faster, stronger, better, but if you put work in and improve against yourself, you have NOTHING to feel bad about.  

I wore my Run Happy shirt today and was reminded a few times through the race that if you're not running happy, then you're kind of missing the whole point.