10/15/06: New 10 Mile PR set at USA 10 Miler!!!

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel when I got up ready to run this morning. Of course, the weather was warmer then I would have liked. Also, there was a slight threat of rain in the forecast. That made my stomach sink…not that I had to possibly run in the rain, but that it would be a little more humid that I would have ideally liked. Oh well, huh. I sucked it up as Wes and I drove out there to good ole’ Clear Lake and I prepared myself for my second ever 10 Mile Race.

Sure enough, it was raining almost the entire 45 minute drive there. But, on the bright side, it was cooler. That was nice. I didn’t really get any kind of a warmup in…which now that I think of it, probably wasn’t a good thing. And I lined up probably too far back too. My legs just didn’t want to wake up and run. In fact, I would say I felt ‘slow’ the first 6 miles of the race, until I took a Carb-Boom. Hmmm, this should be another learning point-learn to take in gu BEFORE a run, and not when I really really need it halfway through.

I was passed by Strider Kate (a fellow SMARTie) about 3 miles into the race, as she was running well and probably averaging a nice 9:00/mile pace. I wanted so bad to catch up with her, so I used her my rabbit to pace me through the last 4 miles. I began to feel the gu working shortly after and I felt my legs waking up quickly. I began passing people that had passed me early on…at first, just one or two people every 5 minutes, then towards the end of the race, 10-15-30 people easily. It felt really good to run so strong at the end, even though I felt soo slow at the beginning.

At mile 9, I knew I was going to kick it up. I passed Edwin who was watching me and that was cool, as well as a few other fellow Striders cheering for me. My confidence was at an all-time high and I felt better in this last mile then I EVER have in a race. In fact, I probably still could have kept running a few more miles…hmmm, another sign I started too slow? I then saw Ms. Kate who was struggling and as I passed her this time I told her 'Come on! I paced off you for 6 miles and you aren’t going to quit now!’ She was hurting bad and I was hoping she could keep up and not walk the last mile.

The finish flashed before me and the clock read 1:30 and some change…my goal all along was to finish under 1:30, so maybe with my chip time I had done it…anyhow, this was an almost 4 minute PR for me from last December and that is NEVER a bad thing! I was sooo happy after the race, as I filled up on post-race goodies and avoided the monsoon that attempted to flood all the runners under their tents. Also, it was such a great feeling to know this was my first ‘step/test’ towards the big Dance in January! Only 3 more races and then it’s game time! Will I be ready in time? I think this race was a big reality check. I’m ready to get Marathon ready now, no more distractions.

THE STATS:

10 miles
offical time: 1:30:12

9:16, 9:11, 9:17, 9:21, 9:18,
9:11 (took gu), 9:00, 8:59, 8:28, 8:08

Heart-rate: 177 ave, 195 max
Weather: raining/humid.