Saturday, April 17, 2010

An Actual Race Report!

(Pre-Postscript. The results are up 47:48 for a 7:42 pace.)


This is my third race of the year and finally I'm writing a race report.

Today I ran the Cemstone Run For Others 10k. The 5k was an option too! It's called the Run for Others because it raises money for Habitat for Humanity. It's also cheap, thus easier to contribute more to the cause.

Anyway, another race that has the option to pick up your race packet the day of the race. Thank you!!! I love that for small races.

I have to say that I was worried about the 10k for several reasons. First and foremost, this was my first 10k. I feel like I know how hard to work on a 5k now, but I obviously don't have the experience with the 10. Secondly, I started having a really bad cold, including congestion, sore throat and other weird symptoms. The most concerning was the fluid loss. I was peeing all the time the last 48 hours. In trying to increase my fluid intake, I just peed more! I was up every 2 hours the last two nights with a full bladder! Seriously!

I guess it worked out anyway! I had a good race. It's nice finding out 3 minutes before the start that it's really hilly. At the start line, all I can see is uphill. Funny! So, I took off taking it easy to see how I feel. I figured that running an 8 minute mile average 10k would be a good first 10k for me. After that first up hill there seemed to be more downhill than anything else on the way out.

First mile: 8:06

An important aspect on this race for me was to hold steady on the hills then let the hills take me down by increasing my leg turnover and shortening my stride.

Second mile: 7:49

Third mile: 7:57
This may seem like a slowdown but this mile was a lot hillier including an 8% slope over 2 minutes.

Fourth mile: 7:32
Feeling strong. In fact I was feeling stronger than at any other point of the race.

Fifth mile: 7:51
That was a long mile. It seemed to take forever. No steep hills here but it seemed to be rolling more.

Sixth mile: 7:46
I knew I was finishing under 50 minutes but by how much? Will I beat 48 minutes?

The disparity distance. According to my Garmin I ran 6.12 miles. But this is a certified course saying that I ran 6.2 miles. Final distance at a pace of 7:17. I don't know what else to say except that sometimes my garmin is wrong (which means some of those miles were faster than I have recorded) and, I count this as 6.2 miles.

I'm happy with this race. The 5k and 7k races last month was at a 7:34 pace and this race was a 7:41. A 5 second per minute slow down is not bad at all for the hills and increased distance. (Did I say that it was about a 650 feet uphill and 650 foot downhill race?)I worked hard but also seemed in control. I was stronger every mile despite the hills and despite mile 5 feeling like forever. I liked my form and I liked how I ran in my new shoes! It was great feeling the ground so well and having the sole flexibility but also feeling comfort. I am sold on Saucony!

What's also funny about my shoes, is how much attention they got. I was getting comments before and then during the race. Many commented about how fast they look. I had to keep saying that they are faster than I am, which seemed to produce quite a few chuckles. Even during the race, an older male volunteer yelled out, "there's my favorite shoes"!

I'm not used to that kind of attention. I was thinking, so this is what it's like to be Steve in a Speedo!

The church where this event is had a pancake breakfast. How awesome for a post race. So what did I do? I left. Had to help some boy scouts earn their bicycling merit badge.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Tim,
    Congrats on a great 10k race!! I am pretty darn jealous of your time:) I also like those small races.

    Speedo Steve is really not human:) He is so flipping fast...it is crazy how fast and how long he can go at that speed!! He has amazing stamina and endurance:)

    I hope that you are enjoying your weekend!

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  2. LOL, By no means do I mean to compare myself to Steve speed wise. Though I'd like to get close to his running speed on the longer distances, if I can. I felt like Steve attention wise, without wearing underwear on the outside or a "bowl full of sunshine".

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  3. Great job! :) And there's nothing better than good post race food!

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  4. Nice work! I am a huge Sauncony fan so glad to see someone else liking them too!

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