Beginners and Beyond

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Art & Orchard 10k Race Report (Read 77 times)

LRB


    I completed today's race with a Garmin time of 38:57 (38:52 officially).

     

    This event is a point to point 5k, 10k & 15k, where you park at the finish and are bussed to the start.  This is my second year running this event so I knew what to expect and how to handle all of that.

     

    My loose goals for today in no particular order were to run an overall pace of 6:14, failing that to get as close to my 5k PR VDOT value of 53.8, and unlikely as it may seem, repeat as the10k winner.

     

    As my spring/summer racing season comes to a close, I have not done much speed work the past couple of weeks.  In fact my last true speed work session was two weeks ago today.  Honestly though that was of little concern to me, as at this point in the year I thought the easy running and rest would serve me better than to continue grinding it out at the track and indeed, I felt really good today.

     

    I got in a 2 mile warmup at easy pace before boarding one of the two 10k buses.  I would say about 25 minutes went by from the time I ended my warmup to the time I got off the bus, not ideal but not a deal breaker either.

     

    Once off, I got in another half mile with a couple of strides thrown in then waited at the start.  There was about a 3 to 5 minute delay  then BAM, we were off!

     

    I jumped right into a pace of 6:20 which felt incredibly good, my tempo pace is 6:26 so I thought that was a good place to start.  The first 3 miles were really smooth despite a steady dose of fumes from the police motorcycle escort.  I decided I would not let that play with my head though and did my best to ignore it.

     

    It was after I crossed mile 3 where the distress kicked in.  This is also where I came along the 5k walkers and some runners who were like a thicket of human brush clogging the 8 foot wide paved trail.

     

    The police cruiser used his siren to make his way through them which worked.  What he didn't do however was announce that there was a runner trailing him, so once he passed through they moved back to their spots on the path. 

     

    I began to yell "On your left!" several times as I made my way through the crowd, most of whom were jamming out and unable to hear me.  I even ran off the path a few times through the ankle high grass and weeds.

     

    In my head I was like you have got to be kidding me!  Here is me, who never says a single word during a race and I am expending all this energy shouting, fark!  So I just started weaving through and not saying shit!  I nudged a few people as I made my way through but was just in too much distress to care.

     

    After about a half mile or so of that I was just ready to be done with the entire stupid thing!  It was all I could do to hold on for dear life as the distress increased, and my mental will to fight it decreased.

     

    My mile splits were:

     

    Mile 1 - 6:18

    Mile 2 - 6:15

    Mile 3 - 6:17

    Mile 4 - 6:20

    Mile 5 - 6:29

    Mile 6 - 6:15

     

    I almost ran off the course and into a restaurant during mile 5!  lol  That shit hurt at that point, both mentally and physically!

     

    I just kept saying to myself that I have come too far to just give up, I repeated to myself to just hang in there about a million times!  It was during this period that I alternated between thinking about anything other than the race, and thinking about nothing at all.

     

    Ultimately I was able to hang tough and finish strong, and despite my drop in pace during miles 4 & 5, I have no complaints with my performance today.

     

    I did not quite run my 5k equivalent VDOT but came pretty damn close at 53.3.  I came up short on overall pace as well but honestly I cannot beat myself up over that.

     

    This was a very good stimulus for my fitness and moving forward the stress and adaptation of the 6:18 overall pace should serve me well.  So for now, it's full steam ahead.

     

    Peace!

    Slymoon Runs


    race obsessed

      Good job LRB!

       

      I have had the police escort one time, and luckily the course was not crowded and the escort announced "Lead Runner".

      I would be a bit pissed in your situation also.  And like you I am not a yeller or announcer, I go around and fume.

       

      I didn't read any comment about overall winner?  So either there was no competition and you smoked everyone? (sounds like it if you had to deal with the police not announcing)  or?

       

       

      Congrats again for sticking with it when it hurts.

      LRB


        I didn't read any comment about overall winner?

         

        Somebody had to win, might as well be me. 

        happylily


          You're Da Man, LRB! Congratulations!

          PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                  Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

          18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

          Slymoon Runs


          race obsessed

             

            Somebody had to win, might as well be me. 

             

            Damn skippy!

            Jack K.


            uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI

              Great run, LRB. You know how work through the distress like a well seasoned pro. Enjoy your pizza and wine!

              FreeSoul87


              Runs4Sanity

                Awesome job! Sorry about the people in your way Smile

                *Do It For Yourself, Do It Because They Said It Was Impossible, Do It Because They Said You Were Incapable*

                PRs

                5k - 24:15 (7:49 min/mile pace) 

                10k - 51:47 (8:16 min/mile pace)

                15k -1:18:09 (8:24 min/mile pace)

                13.1 - 1:53:12 (8:39 min/mile pace)

                 26:2 - 4:14:55 (9:44 min/mile)

                meaghansketch


                  Wow, fantastic run LRB.  What else is there to say?  You absolutely killed it.  Amazing job.

                  Pinktastic


                    HUGE Congrats, Rick!  I knew you could do it!!  Look at our repeat WINNER!!   Hope you drink your weight in wine to celebrate!

                    But The Smile That I Sent Out Returned With You.

                    Cyberic


                      Hey, sounds like my last 10k! Well, except there was no one blocking my path in mine. And mine was not quite as fast. Oh, and there's also the small detail that I didn't even close to winning mine. Ok, ok, your race was way better than mine Smile

                       

                      What else is there to say to a race's winner than big congratulations!

                        Need proof.  Where's the photo of you holding the trophy?  Congratulations on defending your 10K title and also for not taking out a 5K walker with a forearm shiver.

                        “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - T.S. Eliot

                        JerryInIL


                        Return To Racing

                          This is good to know if I ever find myself leading a race.  

                           

                          CONGRATULATIONS !!!!

                              

                          Docket_Rocket


                            Congrats on the win!  Sorry about the masses slowing you down, yo.

                            Damaris

                             

                            As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                            Fundraising Page

                              NICE! Way to bring home the gold. Other than the little glitch in mile 5, outstandingly consistent paces.

                               

                              Sadly they have yet to design a multi-distance event that completely avoids the problem of faster people running into slower people at some point. And the slower people being who they are, often are not aware of race etiquette and/or that people are bearing down behind them.

                              I can't imagine how put out you must've been to be yelling, I know you make a point to not say one word while racing. I remember in my 10k,  when you came & ran the last mile or so with me -- you said "nice pace", I replied "thanks", and you snapped "don't talk!!".

                              Dave

                              PADRunner


                                Nice Job!

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