It's all relative

Fort DeSoto 15k Race, St. Petersburg, FL

Recent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesMike's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageWeek ViewMonth ViewYear View
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2015201620172018201920202021
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

FL,United States

Member Since:

Feb 08, 2015

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Certified course PR's:

Mile: 4:28.0 (Florida, Jan 2020)

5K: 15:12 (FL, Jan. 2020)

10K: 31:44 (FL, Feb. 2020)

15K: 49:03 (FL, Feb. 2020)

1/2 Marathon: 1:10:34 (FL, Feb. 2020)

Marathon: 2:26:57 (WA, July 2019)

100k (63.7 miles, trail): 9:11:00 (FL, Jan. 2019)

Personal:

I started running in 2010 and have (mostly) kept it a habit ever since!  

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Fort DeSoto 15k Race, St. Petersburg, FL (9.321 Miles) 00:53:29, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.309.3213.62

Fort DeSoto 15k Race, St. Petersburg, FL Race Report

This was the second annual 15k on the island.  It's popularity has gone up quite a bit, but that's a good thing.  I won this race last year and had the best race I've ever done (50:40ish) and I knew I couldn't come anywhere near that this year- but it at least helped my confidence by knowing how to run the course.  The temperature was much hotter and more humid this year, so that didn't help.  

The race:  Really there were only three of us from the moment the gun went off: Chris T., Sean G. and myself.  They are former college runners and I train with one (Sean) semi-regularly so I knew what I had racing next to me.  The three of us were all even through 2 miles when Sean (who was clearly feeling good) lowered us down to about 5:36 for mile 2 and then low 5:30s thereafter, so I backed off both of them.  I know Sean's racing style and I'm familiar with his current fitness, so I didn't feel he could keep that, and for me personally I know I wouldn't negative split if I got into the low/mid 5:30s for multiple miles.  I knew a negative split would be the best racing strategy as it has always worked for me in these situations as long as the gap didn't grow too large.  I let a 20 second lead build over the next two and a half miles by Sean and about a 3 second gap behind Chris and then just lowered the pace ever-so-slightly.  Chris gassed first and I caught him around the beggining of mile 4.  Sean followed, but his breathing was much calmer than Chris'.  I made sure to pass them both swiftly and calmly.  I had a ton in the tank so when I caught Sean with about 4.5 miles left to go I knew I had it.  I pressed evenly on miles 6 and 7 to solidify, then relaxed a bit on 8 and 9 after looking back and seeing nobody behind me.  I cruised from there and finished over a minute ahead of Sean and a couple minutes over Chris who got third.

Fun race, and I'm happy and thankful I won- as I really had no business winning that.  Then again, it's all about who shows up, and who the hell wants to run a 15k in the middle of Florida at the end of summer?  The time I ran leaves a lot to be desired as it was 3 minutes behind where I was a year ago, but it's a step in the right direction and I do feel I am overcoming this tribulation.  Now I've earned my 4 comped half marathons which is exciting, and also it's now time to focus on the Chicago Marathon in less than a week!

Splits- 5:45, 5:36, 5:45, 5:45, 5:40, 5:38, 5:39, 5:50, 6:03, Finish (1:48)

Comments
From Tom K on Tue, Oct 04, 2016 at 08:39:48 from 66.87.122.197

Wow. Congrats on the win, and good luck in Chicago! You're right - Who wants to run a 15k in Florida at the end of the summer? Even though you are not racing your fastest, you have to be happy with executing that race strategy. Very smart running!

From Mike M on Tue, Oct 11, 2016 at 12:33:32 from 70.126.44.57

Thanks Tom! It was a fun run, thanks for reading.

Add Your Comment.
  • Keep it family-safe. No vulgar or profane language. To discourage anonymous comments of cowardly nature, your IP address will be logged and posted next to your comment.
  • Do not respond to another person's comment out of context. If he made the original comment on another page/blog entry, go to that entry and respond there.
  • If all you want to do is contact the blogger and your comment is not connected with this entry and has no relevance to others, send a private message instead.
Only registered users with public blogs are allowed to post comments. Log in with your username and password or create an account and set up a blog.
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: