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The goal for this race was to run fast enough that I would qualify for a preferred start corral for the Chicago Marathon. I needed to run 1:45:59 or faster.<br><br>
The weather was pretty ideal for the race this morning - clear, sunny, temp at the start was probably low 40s. I am terrible at placing myself at the start so I started out a bit under my desired pace (I wanted to run 8:00 min/miles). I made the time up over the next couple of miles, and actually ended up building up about a one minute cushion. I think part of that was due to the fact that I didn't see the mile 4 or mile 6 markers and it put me in a bit of a panic, so I probably sped up.<br><br>
The early part of the course took us through the University of Kansas campus, which is VERY hilly. (I know ya'll think Kansas is super flat, but this part of the state is not.) Coming off the campus was probably the longest, steepest downhill I have ever run on. I felt very out of control. Once I got through those early hills my pace felt pretty comfortable.<br><br>
I started losing some steam over the last couple of miles, but I was still on pace for the finish I wanted/needed. The race started/finished at the Haskell Indian Nations University stadium. The finish was Olympic-style where we came running into the stadium and did a lap around the track. It was really neat. I ended up finishing in about 1:45:15 - at least that's what I saw when I crossed the line. <img alt="icon_cheers.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/icon_cheers.gif"> The official results have not been posted on the web site yet so I can't say for sure.<br><br>
I am really pleased with my time. It's a PR by almost two and half minutes, and it gets me the preferred start I want for Chicago. Yay! <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"><br><br>
The course was new this year, and I liked it. It was nice to see many different parts of the city and not just the paved trail by the highway. There are some things I think could be tweaked for next year, and I plan to make some suggestions to them, but overall a great race!
The weather was pretty ideal for the race this morning - clear, sunny, temp at the start was probably low 40s. I am terrible at placing myself at the start so I started out a bit under my desired pace (I wanted to run 8:00 min/miles). I made the time up over the next couple of miles, and actually ended up building up about a one minute cushion. I think part of that was due to the fact that I didn't see the mile 4 or mile 6 markers and it put me in a bit of a panic, so I probably sped up.<br><br>
The early part of the course took us through the University of Kansas campus, which is VERY hilly. (I know ya'll think Kansas is super flat, but this part of the state is not.) Coming off the campus was probably the longest, steepest downhill I have ever run on. I felt very out of control. Once I got through those early hills my pace felt pretty comfortable.<br><br>
I started losing some steam over the last couple of miles, but I was still on pace for the finish I wanted/needed. The race started/finished at the Haskell Indian Nations University stadium. The finish was Olympic-style where we came running into the stadium and did a lap around the track. It was really neat. I ended up finishing in about 1:45:15 - at least that's what I saw when I crossed the line. <img alt="icon_cheers.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/icon_cheers.gif"> The official results have not been posted on the web site yet so I can't say for sure.<br><br>
I am really pleased with my time. It's a PR by almost two and half minutes, and it gets me the preferred start I want for Chicago. Yay! <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"><br><br>
The course was new this year, and I liked it. It was nice to see many different parts of the city and not just the paved trail by the highway. There are some things I think could be tweaked for next year, and I plan to make some suggestions to them, but overall a great race!
