On Sunday, July 14^th, 2013 I ran the Shore Road Classic 10K in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. It is part of a summer series of 3 5K/10K races at this location throughout the summer. This is the 2nd in the series. The first was the same day as the Giants 5K so I missed it.

So, I ran 2 races this weekend. I feel like Scotty lol! I wouldn’t have planned it that way, but I really wanted to run the MLB All-Star 5K, and I was running it with my friend and father….and then I found out there was going to be a small, low key 5K and 10K race held in my neighborhood on the jogging path I run at least part of almost all of my training runs on. I needed a 9 mile run this morning, and to avoid the jogging path completely would make less sense then just signing up for the 10K and using it as part of my 9 mile training run. I love the energy of races, even when I am not “racing.” My plan was to just run it easy. I am usually pretty good at restraining myself from “racing” when it is not in my best interest for training runs or other upcoming races that I deem more important, but when I want to participate in an event anyway. Famous last words. Short version…..I PRed. Oops??

Background: So my 10K PR is soft. Yet, I cannot seem to break it. According to McMillan, based on my 5K PR I should be able to run a 58:42 10K. All I have wanted is to break 60 minutes. May 19^th was my first try at it, and I was running a sub-60 pace and feeling great at the 5K mark but then my ITBS started acting up, I slowed down quite a bit, and ended up with a disappointing 1:05:02. Which WAS a PR from my first 10K on 12/16/12 of 107:46, but I knew I was a completely different runner in May than I was in December and was still disappointed. 2^nd sub-60 attempt was on July 4^th. It was a really hot and humid day and despite starting out ok, I ran a perfect reverse progression (if that is a thing) and each mile got slower and slower. I ended up not only completely blowing sub-60, but didn’t even PR and ended up with 1:05:17. I decided to give up on the sub-60 attempts until cooler weather in the fall, and just concentrate on my half marathon training for now.

Pre-Race: Start time was 8:00am. The start was .5 miles from my apartment. I left at around 7:15, got there a few minutes later, picked up my nice tech T-shirt and bib, was gonna run my T-shirt home but decided just to check it, used the porta potties, ran an easy mile, stretched, used the potty again, asked a volunteer to take a pic for me (cuz what would a RR be without a pic?) and then it was go time.

The Race: The 5K and 10K started together. They were both an out and back in Shore Road Park in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn on an asphalt jogging path that runs along the water. What water do you say? I don’t even know what it is called and Iive here lol….it is south of Manhattan so the East Rivers and Hudson River have joined together at this point on their quest to the Atlantic Ocean, which is another few miles south. I guess it is a….bay? Anyway. The start/finish line is at the 69^th St Pier, which has a great view of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, and then the route goes down the jogging path towards the Verrazano Bridge. The 5K turns around just before the bridge, the 10K continues underneath the Verrazano Bridge, continues down the path a ways, then turns around. There were 62 10K finishers and 59 5K finishers. This is the smallest race I have ever been a part of. Temperature was 75 degrees at the start and rose to over 80 while I was running. Humidity was an oh-so-pleasant 94%. These were similar conditions to my 4th of July slogfest, but they are also similar conditions to ALL of my training runs for the past 3 weeks so maybe I am finally getting used to it. There was a nice breeze by the water at least.

First Mile: Because both races were together for the first 1.55 miles, everyone from both races kind of started in a big ol pack, and there was no way to know who was running what. Needless to say, it was really hard not to start out too fast. I had set up my Garmin so I could not see my instant pace, only distance, but I told myself that I could look at my mile times when it beeped. So I didn’t know just how fast I was going. It didn’t feel that hard, but I was definitely caught up in the pack for awhile, and that probably pushed my pace too much. Beep, first mile done, and it was 9:24. OOPS! Geez Louise, Kristin….RELAX! Remember that thing about running this easy? Or at the most comfortably hard? You are NOT going for sub-60…cool it a bit!

Second and Third Miles: I made myself slow the pace a little. The pack was starting to spread out, and the 5Kers turned around at the 1.55 mile mark, so things thinned out significantly then, and I also appreciated finally knowing who was actually in my race. By the 2 mile mark everyone was single file. I was passed by one person after this point, and managed to pass another. After that I was on my own, about 50 yards or so back from the guy who had passed me. 10:18, 10:44

Fourth and Fifth Miles: So I looked at total time elapsed at the 5K point turnaround. It was just shy of 31:40. Oops, faster than my “comfortably hard” 5K that I ran yesterday, and actually would have been my third fastest recorded 5K time if it were a 5K. Yeah, so much for running easy. I did some quick calculations, and even taking into account the too-fast first mile that I was not going to allow myself to replicate, I could probably PR if nothing went wrong. Yes, I will do that. Let’s PR. Ok, so, hold onto whatever this pace feels like and let’s do it! 10:42, 10:58. Crap that is a little too slow on that 5^th mile, let’s pick it up just a tad, because if you miss your PR by a few seconds, at this point, you’re gonna be really upset. Come on, let’s do this!

Sixth Mile, and last .2 (well Garmin says .26): Pushed myself a bit harder than the last mile. A guy passed me early in the 6^th mile and I thought maybe I could match him, but he had I guess really saved energy for a kick cuz he was long gone. Passed a woman shortly after who had started run/walking. In the last .2 I came up on another woman and felt like I could pass her so I gave it some gas and I passed her! I usually don’t worry about other runners at all or even notice who passes me or who I pass because I run a lot of races with thousands of people, but at a race this small it is hard not to notice and care! I saw the clock clearly still said 1:04:XX as I sprinted toward it. 10:19, 2:22 (8:58 pace).

Stopped the Garmin at 1:04:48. A PR A PR!!! YAY!

Official time: 1:04:45. A 17 second PR! Well, it is kind of an official time. They seemed to have given me a bib assigned to a 6 year old girl who was registered for the 5K, but they’re working on fixing the results on the website for me. Because I did not run the 5K, nor am I 6. Lol.

I was so happy, I needed another volunteer to take an "after, yay PR" pic:

Got water and Gatorade, caught my breath and rested for a few, cheered on the very few slower people who came in after me, then I was off to run 2 more very VERY slow miles for a total of 9 for the morning.

Swag:

Thanks for reading!

HAHA...I already commented on FB, but I didn't know about the 6 year old / 5K bib.  That's funny stuff.  You have an entertaining life in general, full of whacky neighbors, space aliens and what-not.  Congratulations on the PR.

Way to go on the PR!  You always embody the esprit de running.  Good job.

Congrats on the PR!  I say keep the 6-year-old AG, you'll win your AG that way!!  (I SO wish I had done this race.  Hmph.)

Congrats on the PR!  I say keep the 6-year-old AG, you'll win your AG that way!!  (I SO wish I had done this race.  Hmph.)

That made me chuckle!   What's the AG swag for the 5-10 year olds?  If it's good stuff, totally keep it.  

Great job on the PR!

Great job and congrats on the shiny new PR, Kristin!

That looks like a really neat place to race.

Congratulations on the PR!

haha perhaps!

Great RR, photos and congrats on the PR.  My wife and kids say I act like a 6 year old, so maybe they saw the inner child in you for your registration!!