They called this a 10K, but I think it may have been a little short. I wish race directors would measure things accurately so we can compare times from one 10K to another. Oh well, it was fun anyway. I ran this in 2004 (when I think the distance was accurate) in 47:59. In 2005, when I think they may have shortened the course, and it was the same as today (though I can't remember for sure), my time was 44:54. So I was faster today, which made me happy. Even if you add on 4 minutes for a short course, I would still be happy with my time today.
This is the first 10K I've run in over a year. It's my first race since SGM (I guess we call that a race). I went in not really knowing where I was fitness wise, and was just hoping to be at least in the 48 minute range. My goal was to run this at a "comfortably hard" pace, with the emphasis on comfortable. Not necessarily taking it easy, but keeping my upper body relaxed, always feeling pretty good and never feeling like I was dying. This race was just to show me where I am, not to kill myself going all out. So that's what I did. Whenever I felt my shoulders tensing, I made myself relax. Whenever I felt too uncomfortable, I made myself relax. When I finished I felt pretty good, like maybe I could have run it again if I really wanted to. One thing frustrating was I brought my garmin but I couldn't get it to turn on. It does that occasionally, I charge it the night before, then for some reason it won't work until I charge it again. This is one race I could have used it because the mile markers were messed up and I had no idea what pace I was running.
A highlight of the race was finally getting to meet the famous Michelle Lowry. I ran into her after the race, and we had a nice chat. She was very friendly. She won for the women! It looks like she is back. Overall, the race was a very nice experience. |