Race #128
2 Miler #1
2017 Race #12
2017 2 Miler #1
Freedom Flyer 2 Miler #1
When I saw that the Greenville Track Club was putting on a new holiday race in a distance that I have never raced before, I signed up immediately. (Like I have mentioned before, I have an addiction to running all the races.)
One of these days I’m going to actually train for a shorter race, make it my A race. Those half and full marathons though…
Going into this race having never raced this distance before and not having trained for short distance speed, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. After checking my stats on the McMillan Pace calculator, I came up with a couple goals. My main goal would be finishing in 14:16, a 7:08 pace. In reality though, that goal translated into sub 14 minutes. My reach goal was 12:57, a 6:28 pace. In reality, I have never had a race mile with that fast of a split. If I trained specifically for this race though, I could have probably achieved that goal.
We arrived with plenty of time to get in a little warm up and watch the unfortunately painful Memorial Day tribute put on by the race director. (Technical difficulties obscured the full impact of the tribute.) Things appeared a little haphazard but I knew that there would not be that many people out today having looked at the number of participants signed up online.
Modeling the race singlets
With about 10 minutes to go, we lined up and prepared to start. I had actually expected to go the other direction but clearly I misread the course map. All I knew is that the first mile held significant uphill which when we turned around, enabled us to “fly,” thus the name of the race.
At 8:28 we were off. Immediately I knew that racing a 2 miler is a whole different ball game than any other race that I have run. With a race this short, knowing the course like the back of your hand would be the way to truly excel. I did not have that depth of knowledge.
I took off in a near sprint and soon felt the effects. I quickly tried to settle in to a better pace, one that would enable me to get up the incline in good enough shape to sprint the second mile.
That uphill took a lot out of me. It is crazy hard to continue a sprint while on that sort of incline. It is not impossible though, just something that I would need to train for specifically.
Finally we reached the top of the hill and the end of the first mile, the halfway point
Mile 1: 7:05
Then came the downhill. My legs did not want to increase the turnover. I glanced down at my Garmin several times expecting a much faster average pace than what I saw.
Looking back, I am almost 100% certain that I could have pushed the pace a whole lot more than I did. I held back out of subconscious fear of sprinting too soon and then completely running out of steam at the end. In a race as short as this, there really is no space to hold back like I did. Lesson learned for sure.
Then, just in time, the finish line approached. Only here did I actually start to push as hard as I should have been for at least the previous half mile.
Mile 2: 6:46
Overall: 13:53
I finished dripping in sweat. The weather was pretty much ridiculous. I am thrilled that I pretty much crushed my original goal of 14:16. 23 seconds is not much in some races but in a 2 miler, it’s enormous. I know though that I could have gone faster. I think the main thing that would help me get faster for shorter distances would be to limit my longer distance races. Since that’s never going to happen, I’ll just have to make do for now.
Just a couple sweaty sprinters
Mom finished just over a minute behind me yet in front of all the other forty and overs. She is a fantastic runner!
Award winners!
Race Review
Registration and Packet Pick Up
I still do not understand why Greenville Track Club permits registration for many of their races on two separate platforms. I would think that a scenario like that could cause some logistical issues. Other than that everything else about registration and packet pick up on race morning went smoothly.
Race Shirt
GTC offered two options of shirts for this race, a regular shirt and a singlet. Both Mom and I chose the singlet. I really like that option because the quality of shirts that the GTC orders for its races is better suited for the singlets than actual race shirts. I will probably use this as a workout shirt in the future.
Prerace/morning (evening) amenities
Anything downtown is always nice. For the GTC’s sake, I hope that more people register next year, otherwise, I do not see how they would be able to afford a downtown venue. The amenities were a bit lacking. If you’re going to have a pre-race show that involves technology of some sort, a soundcheck or other sort of practice helps to work out the kinks.
Course
The course itself is challenging but fun. This could become a favorite of mine should the GTC continue this race in the future, which I sincerely hope that they do. It is a challenging first mile which sets you up well for a fast mile if you race well.
Course Support
Nothing was evident on the course although it was well marked and the streets were well-manned with police officers blocking traffic.
Finish line and Post Race Amenities
Finishing on Main Street is always a scenic finish. I took the water but nothing else although some fruit and other snacks were provided.
Photography
There was a photographer taking pictures pre-race and of the race winners. I do not know if she was taking pictures of racers as they finished. I will update this as I find out more.
Results
Palmetto Timing did a stand out job, as always.
I would definitely recommend this race. I will admit that I was disappointed in the fairly low turnout, barely 200 people. I think this could be a stand out race. GTC actually did a fairly good job with the amenities and everything else; I think something is missing in their marketing plan though. On a holiday like this, a short race should have done well and had a lot higher rate of participation. I hope that someone with some marketing skill comes on board with the GTC and this race so that it continues. I think it could be quite successful.