The Gate River Run 15K Jacksonville Fl.

Yesterday I ran the Gate River Run 15K again. THe weather was cool, my truck said 60 degrees but the winds were horrendous. The paper said this morning that they were near 25 miles an hour with 40 mph gusts. This was my final race before my 50K in 2 weeks but since it is a shorter race and I hadn't work on my speed at all, I wasn't sure how I would do. My goal time was 70 minutes.<br><br>
The group from the gym where I run all met for our annual picture and everyone else was bundled up and I showed up like normal with no shirt on. Everyone said I was nuts but I told them that by mile 1.5 I would be hot anyway.<br><br>
THe gun went off and I moved with the crowd. Boy was I happy that I had ran a 5K on December 31st fast enough to get me in the seeded section. The race ended up with over 12K finishers. It took me about a minute to get across the starting mat. At the first turn a lady lost her shoe, at the second turn a man tripped over something and fell. After that turn we finally had a long straightaway to let the crowds spread out. I ran through mile one in 7:30. The wind was there and swirling. I just tried to keep my head down and keep running as we made the turns for the first bridge We ended up with a tail wind for about 2 blocks that really made you run fast and feel like you were flying. Everyone was laughing about it.<br><br>
After crossing the metall grates of the Main Street drawbridge and fighting the winds a little bit we were now in San Marco. The crowds along here were awesome like always. One part of the race puts us on River Road which runs right next to the Saint Johns River. The winds were blowing so much that there white caps on the river and the waves were blowing into the concrete seawall and all the runners were getting a nice little unwanted shower. I crossed through mile 3 in about 7:20 and my 5K Split ended up being 23:04. I still felt very good.<br><br>
By now I had gotten into a comfortable pace. I found a group of people that seemed to be running about the pace I wanted so I tried to hang with them. I had set my garmin to show me how I was doing against a 70 minute 15K and so far I was slightly ahead of pace. I kept on running and just working on maintaining a solid pace. I made it through mile 4 in 7:24. The fans were still out cheering us all on and the next thing I know I am at mile 5 in 7:17. Mile 6 quickly passes in 7:27 and I am still feeling good. My 10K split was 45:57 (A negative 5K Split!!!)<br><br>
Now I am a the point where I usually start to falter in this race, but the winds and the cool weather have allowed me to still feel strong. I know I have less than 5K to go. Mile 7 shows up and I cross that marker in 7:16. 2.3 miles to go and I am still feeling strong. The winds are still blowing but not really bothering me. It keeps me cool and I like it. Time to head up the Hart bridge. 6% grade for over half a mile and I just work my way up. The group I had been chasing seem to drop off. I Never see the marker for mile 8. The winds are REALLY strong on this bridge. People are getting knocked around moved. One advantage of being 185 pounds is the winds don't move you as much! <img alt="wink.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/wink.gif"><br><br>
After getting to the top of the bridge I know I have maybe a mile to go. I try and find someone to try and chase down. Now that the bridge is over everyone is picking up the pace trying to make up for the lost time heading up. I lengthen my stride a little but not a lot since I know I can't kick for a mile. I get through mile 9 in 15:12. I just stay comfortable. We head down the ramp and make the turn to enter the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. This year they arranged for us to finish on the field in the stadium. I started my final kick as we entered the tunnel to enter the stadium. I passed a few people and then another guy came up on my shoulder and I think i held him off. I cross through the finish line and begin the trek to get out of the stadium. I look at my watch and I see that I had a gun time of 1:09:23. (Final 5K split was 23:00) Not bad.<br><br>
They had us actually finishing in the grass along the sidelines. We kind of entered one tunnel of the stadium and then exited through the other one at the other end of the stadium. They did not really allow us to hang out on the grass. I track down a couple of my buddies and we head for the beer truck. I drink 2 and then I have to say my good bye's since I have to get back home to see the second half of my son's flag football game.<br><br>
End results were:<br>
Finish Position: 684<br>
Chip Time: 1:08:57<br><br>
I think today was the best weather temperature wise I have seen it here in the 6 or 7 years I have run the race. Since I ran so well I am feeling a little more confident about how I will do in 2 weeks.