10 Miler and a PR
OK, technically, whatever I did today would be a PR. This is the first time I've raced this distance. That said...
My goal was to finish between 1:20 and 1:25 (8:00 to 8:30 pace). My plan was to go out at 8:30 pace and run negative splits throughout. So how did I do?
Short Version:
Yes, I accomplished my goal! (woot woot) Watch time was 1:23:36, average pace 8:22 (Chip time was 1:23:43, an 8:23 pace). Course was a little more hilly than expected, not too bad, but not conducive to even splits. Weather was very nice. Start temperature was around 46F. This was a very nice race, well organized (excepting at least one misplaced mile marker), with appropriate goodies at the finish (juice, bagels, bananas, COFFEE, and hot soup). I will try and return next year, and recommend the race to any of you New Englanders out there.
I have to say something about the overall winner. Patrick Moulton (23 years old from Pelham, NH) apparently won the race 2 years ago in something like 54 minutes. Last year he won in about 52 minutes. Today he won in 49:43. HOLY CRAP! That's under 4:59 per mile, for 10 miles, on a course with hills! Second place was 57:15. He won by 7 minutes and 32 seconds. Amazing. And ... apparently he ran his first marathon a couple months ago -- in 2:20! This kid is destined to be a great American distance runner. Keep an eye on him.
Long Version:
There were 357 runners in the 10-miler (there were also 265 entrants in the 5K run/walk). Temperature at the start was about 46F. I wore my lightweight long sleeve shirt and Race Ready shorts (along with my now signature grey cap and red sunglasses). The course was roughly 1 mile out, then twice around a 4 mile loop, then 1 mile back. I do only about a half mile warmup since it's a longer race and I won't be running full bore. Again, the plan is to start at 8:30 pace and run negative splits to finish between 1:20 and 1:25.
Mile 1: 7:53 -- OK, so this was way faster than planned, but it was almost all downhill so it's OK.
Mile 2: 7:55 -- Oops, that one was definitely too fast. I'll pay for that later. This was the first mile of the loop and it's mostly uphill. How did I do sub-8:00 going uphill?
Mile 3: 8:21 -- Now that's more like it. This mile is also mostly uphill. It has the first water station and I WALK through the station making sure to drink a whole cup of water. In my first marathon I also walked through the water stations, in my second I tried running and spilled too much and didn't drink enough. Since I'm simulating my next marathon, I walk through all of the water stations.
Miles 4 & 5: 16:28 -- Hmm. The 4-mile marker was missing. Mile 4 is relatively flat and mile 5 is mostly downhill, so I'm guessing these were maybe 8:20 and 8:08 respectively. Second water station is in mile 5 and I walk through again.
Mile 6: 9:32 -- What the hell? This is the same as mile 2 and I did it 1:37 slower? Doesn't seem right but it is uphill and I'm tired. As I'm heading up this hill a guy passes me. He's older. He's overweight. I can't believe this guy is passing me. Maybe I'm fading? But it doesn't feel like it to me. I really don't want this guy to beat me so I make sure I keep close behind him from here on.
Mile 7: 8:20 -- Yeah, that's about right. This is the same as mile 3 and is mostly uphill. I do it 1 second faster than the first time around. Thinking that the 6 mile marker is misplaced. Again walk through the water station.
Mile 8: 8:19 -- Feeling good. This is the same as mile 4, so my guess as to the pace I was doing for #4 is probably pretty close.
Mile 9: 7:17 -- That can't be right. Sure it's downhill, but I'm not running that much faster. That one's also misplaced. But now I've got (about) 1 mile to go and the older, hefty runner is still in front of me. That's impressive. I pull up right behind him. Walk through the last water station.
Mile 10: 9:29 -- Yup, that 9-mile marker was in the wrong place. I'm running side by side with the hefty runner and we're now passing people. We're both speeding up towards the finish line. I still can't believe this guy can keep accelerating. With about a quarter mile to go, I turn to him and say, "All right, let's do it!" (not in a competitive way, but in a very encouraging way) and I kick it up a notch. He's only with me for about 10 yards and then falls back. I'm moving pretty fast now and I pass a couple more runners in the last couple hundred yards. Now, about 50 feet from the finish line I hear somebody coming up behind me very fast and I can tell they plan to pass me just before the line. But I really have been pacing myself the whole race and have plenty of kick left. I pour it on and absolutely dust them over the last 50 feet. I never look back but hear them say, "Oh, crap." Yeah, felt good.
My watch reads 1:23:36 and the chip time is 1:23:43. I place 168th overall (out of 357) and 48th in my age group (out of 71). I do a bit of a cool-down jog then head for the goodies. After indulging in the bagels, juice, coffee and soup, I drive back to the apartment and take a well deserved nap. After putting in a few more hours at work I plan to do an easy 3 mile run this evening.
It's been a good day and things are looking good in my progress towards the Arizona marathon.
C-Ya
My goal was to finish between 1:20 and 1:25 (8:00 to 8:30 pace). My plan was to go out at 8:30 pace and run negative splits throughout. So how did I do?
Short Version:
Yes, I accomplished my goal! (woot woot) Watch time was 1:23:36, average pace 8:22 (Chip time was 1:23:43, an 8:23 pace). Course was a little more hilly than expected, not too bad, but not conducive to even splits. Weather was very nice. Start temperature was around 46F. This was a very nice race, well organized (excepting at least one misplaced mile marker), with appropriate goodies at the finish (juice, bagels, bananas, COFFEE, and hot soup). I will try and return next year, and recommend the race to any of you New Englanders out there.
I have to say something about the overall winner. Patrick Moulton (23 years old from Pelham, NH) apparently won the race 2 years ago in something like 54 minutes. Last year he won in about 52 minutes. Today he won in 49:43. HOLY CRAP! That's under 4:59 per mile, for 10 miles, on a course with hills! Second place was 57:15. He won by 7 minutes and 32 seconds. Amazing. And ... apparently he ran his first marathon a couple months ago -- in 2:20! This kid is destined to be a great American distance runner. Keep an eye on him.
Long Version:
There were 357 runners in the 10-miler (there were also 265 entrants in the 5K run/walk). Temperature at the start was about 46F. I wore my lightweight long sleeve shirt and Race Ready shorts (along with my now signature grey cap and red sunglasses). The course was roughly 1 mile out, then twice around a 4 mile loop, then 1 mile back. I do only about a half mile warmup since it's a longer race and I won't be running full bore. Again, the plan is to start at 8:30 pace and run negative splits to finish between 1:20 and 1:25.
Mile 1: 7:53 -- OK, so this was way faster than planned, but it was almost all downhill so it's OK.
Mile 2: 7:55 -- Oops, that one was definitely too fast. I'll pay for that later. This was the first mile of the loop and it's mostly uphill. How did I do sub-8:00 going uphill?
Mile 3: 8:21 -- Now that's more like it. This mile is also mostly uphill. It has the first water station and I WALK through the station making sure to drink a whole cup of water. In my first marathon I also walked through the water stations, in my second I tried running and spilled too much and didn't drink enough. Since I'm simulating my next marathon, I walk through all of the water stations.
Miles 4 & 5: 16:28 -- Hmm. The 4-mile marker was missing. Mile 4 is relatively flat and mile 5 is mostly downhill, so I'm guessing these were maybe 8:20 and 8:08 respectively. Second water station is in mile 5 and I walk through again.
Mile 6: 9:32 -- What the hell? This is the same as mile 2 and I did it 1:37 slower? Doesn't seem right but it is uphill and I'm tired. As I'm heading up this hill a guy passes me. He's older. He's overweight. I can't believe this guy is passing me. Maybe I'm fading? But it doesn't feel like it to me. I really don't want this guy to beat me so I make sure I keep close behind him from here on.
Mile 7: 8:20 -- Yeah, that's about right. This is the same as mile 3 and is mostly uphill. I do it 1 second faster than the first time around. Thinking that the 6 mile marker is misplaced. Again walk through the water station.
Mile 8: 8:19 -- Feeling good. This is the same as mile 4, so my guess as to the pace I was doing for #4 is probably pretty close.
Mile 9: 7:17 -- That can't be right. Sure it's downhill, but I'm not running that much faster. That one's also misplaced. But now I've got (about) 1 mile to go and the older, hefty runner is still in front of me. That's impressive. I pull up right behind him. Walk through the last water station.
Mile 10: 9:29 -- Yup, that 9-mile marker was in the wrong place. I'm running side by side with the hefty runner and we're now passing people. We're both speeding up towards the finish line. I still can't believe this guy can keep accelerating. With about a quarter mile to go, I turn to him and say, "All right, let's do it!" (not in a competitive way, but in a very encouraging way) and I kick it up a notch. He's only with me for about 10 yards and then falls back. I'm moving pretty fast now and I pass a couple more runners in the last couple hundred yards. Now, about 50 feet from the finish line I hear somebody coming up behind me very fast and I can tell they plan to pass me just before the line. But I really have been pacing myself the whole race and have plenty of kick left. I pour it on and absolutely dust them over the last 50 feet. I never look back but hear them say, "Oh, crap." Yeah, felt good.
My watch reads 1:23:36 and the chip time is 1:23:43. I place 168th overall (out of 357) and 48th in my age group (out of 71). I do a bit of a cool-down jog then head for the goodies. After indulging in the bagels, juice, coffee and soup, I drive back to the apartment and take a well deserved nap. After putting in a few more hours at work I plan to do an easy 3 mile run this evening.
It's been a good day and things are looking good in my progress towards the Arizona marathon.
C-Ya
posted by Kurt in Boston at 2:55 PM
2 Comments:
Well done!! Congratulations on a great race!
Thanks, Lara!
Thanks, Runninturnip!
I kind of liked the 10 mile distance (it was my first race at that distance). I think a half marathon would be similar (ONLY another 5K). This race was particularly well done -- they had digital clocks at almost every mile (all except for mile 4, plus I think 2 of them were misplaced -- oh well). The two marathons I've done both had clocks and timing mats at 4 different locations along the course so they automatically record your splits. For this race I just took my splits on my own watch as I passed each mile marker (I use a Timex Ironman watch).
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