10 mile race

Feb 02, 2009

My plan seemed simple for this race at least in my mind ... run a 5k at current half marathon pace, a little rest then run a warm up, race a 10 miler with slightly tired legs at 80-85% heart rate (145-155) then immediately after the race finish with a 5K cooldown. If I accomplished that, I would have totaled 17 miles. I guess one problem with this plan is that it violates the milage increase rules of 10% per week as my longest run at this time in my training is 9 miles. The second problem is that I don't end up with a faster time and have to settle for a slow showing in the race.

I arrived in Cape Elizabeth at 8:00 and at that time the temp was 12 degrees. I didn't start the day too well, as I was stepping over the guard rail, somehow my right foot didn't make it and my shin/ upper leg landed on the rail with all my body weight. The pain was quite severe and it took me a few minutes of walking around to get rid of the limp. I took a look and found a pretty nasty gash with a good amount of swelling. I hoped this would not affect my race.

I figured I would put on one extra layer for the 5K than the race. I ran in reverse of the race just to get an idea of how much ice was on the last 2 miles of which 1.5 miles of it was up hill. I figured this would be a good workout for my 5k as I remember both times I have run this struggling in those last two miles. The plus was that I wasn't bothered much by the banged up shin.

I ran 1.75 miles down the course then turned around and ran back the hills. I was actually quite surprised as the hills seems easy .....quite easy as a matter of fact. Perhaps my hill running on the treadmill has helped more than I thought. I finished the 5k at 9:46 pace, though my kick got down to a pretty speedy 7:02. I decided to put in a good kick as I was looking to run the 10 miler on "not fresh" legs.

After a walking cooldown I rested for about 15 minutes, sucked down a power gel and then ran an easy .75 mile warmup waiting for the race. The warm up felt good and the legs actually felt quite fresh. I lined up about 3/4 way back from the start and this ended up being a mistake as the crowd just hung at the starting bell. I timed 38 seconds to the start and then we "surged" for the first 3 tenths of a mile.

My intent was to be close to people running my pace so I could settle in and not get sucked up to a faster pace than my plan as few people would be passing me. I accomplished that but paid the price for the first half mile.

The first two miles seemed slow then I started settling in and passing at will. I found that passing on the snow/ice patches worked to my advantage and was glad to have the trail experience here. Most runners were very cautious at these spots and I just powered right by them.

I was wearing the brooks cascadia trail runners and I think it was the perfect shoe for these conditions. I stopped at mile five took a couple ecaps and drank a gatorade. I felt good during mile six and and blamed that on the gatorade or perhaps the short rest. Though when looking back at my pace in six, after deducting the stop of 20 seconds, I actually ran a few seconds slower than mile five.

The rolling hills in the first 6 miles did not seem to affect me at all though I began to feel the fatigue in my legs and arms (some of this I attribute to the roof shoveling yesterday) as my arms were very tired after. When I hit the mile 9 long hill, I instantly remembered the last two races .....damn that 9 mile hill seemed long...at least 2 miles I figured (though it was not my slowest mile of the race). The only plus I could think of when I started mile ten was that it was almost over and that this was actually mile 13 for me.

The continuing hill still worked at my legs and breath to a point where I was merely hanging on. Honestly I figured at this slower pace, I would be cruising these hills. Finally I crested the last part of the hill and tried to dig deep to find a little more speed. The down hill finish was very welcoming it allowed me to put out a pretty good kick (7:04)and pass a half dozen runners. I was very glad to stop running at that moment.

I took a dozen deep breaths, walked back up the hill and started my (after race 5k)
This was a lot tougher than my brain had imagined. I ran reverse again and was not too happy with that decision as I ran back up that mile 10 hill. My legs became very spongy after the first mile, the cold for some reason had penitrated my core so I decided to call it quits and head back. My 5k turned into a 2 miler.

Upon returning, I walked off the sponginess and plopped into my truck for a drink and some rest. I was quite spent at this point and felt I might have been better off to rest for 10 of 15 minutes before running the secnd 5K. Of course I planned on running fatigued so I guess I crossed that bridge.

In the end I ran a total of 16 miles just 1 mile short of my goal. Overall I am satisfied with the day.


5K run 30:19
9:46 pace 144-158 HR (7:02 kick)

.75 mile warm up 11:00 pace

10 mile race (net time) 1:33:09
9:16 pace 152-164 HR (7:04 kick)
Splits: 38 seconds to start from bell, 9:41, 9:34, 8:58, 8:47, 8:59, (20sec stop) 9:06, 9:14, 9:14, 9:40 (mile 8-9 hill), 9:19, (last .1 mile kick down to 7:04)

2 mile continuation
19:50
9:57 pace 146-147 HR

Cooldown walk/jog