I ran the Volkslaufe 10k in Frankenmuth Mi yesterday. I actually met Marathon Derrick for the first time even though we are at many of the same races just never met up. A nice guy and he seems to know everyone. So popular too. What a perfect day for a race! IRC 60s and blue skies with little wind. I went into this race thinking I would try to hold my marathon pace and not really go all out for a PR. The problem is I am not sure what that is anymore so I decided that I would run it at my BQ pace (8 mm)to see how I felt. My PR at the 10k is 48:29 so my effort would have to be similar but my thought was that I should be in better shape than last January when I ran my PR race. This race starts out and ends on grass and it was pretty wet from dew because of the low temps the night before and my first concern was slipping on the wet grass but that was not a problem but your feet get pretty wet in the first 200 yards or so before it turns to gravel. The course itself has a few ups and downs but nothing of any concern but I would not call it flat by any means. Trying to get through the crowd on the trail and grass was difficult so I just hung back until we hit the street before I started making any real moves. I saw Derrick at about this point and we said our hellos and then we kinda lost each other in the crowd. Like most races I like to find someone to pace off from and after about the first mile I settled in behind a tall guy that seemed to be running right at the 8 minute mark. I kept telling myself to practice an even pace as to mimic a marathon vs. (Larry pass that guy he might be your age bracket). I hung out behind him until the 5k mark. there was a pretty good down hill there and I take full advantage of everyone of those and he was slowing down for it so I passed him and was looking for a new partner to run with. I kept looking at my watch and just could not hold 8s anymore it would be more like 8:15s . Not that I was tired but I was just having trouble holding that particular pace. I Looked ahead and saw a guy that I know who passed me just before the chute in my last 5k and decided that that was the man to beat.That made me pick my pace back up and renewed my energy level. I was passing a lot of people after the 6k mark but gaining no ground on my rabbit. My pace was under 8s now and I was probably making up some lost time from earlier. As we got closer to coming back into town they had a few bands and a lot of little girls from dance studios performing on the street corners. That was all pretty cool and I made sure to smile and thank the dancers at each spot. The bands always give a boost to some tired legs and I finished strong, pretty much all alone and beat again by the same guy. That makes it fun for the next time though. We will meet again! So anyway, 48:29 and 7:49 pace. 210 out of 714 OA and 24 out of 62 AG Did you notice that my time was exactly the same as my PR ? to the second! How often does that happen? Also my wife pointed out that 48 is my age and the 29th is the day of the month I was born. Coincidence ? I think Not. Kinda got off my plan but did get a taste of what pace feels like to BQ. I am not sure I could have held that for 26.2 miles but I have until October to work on that. Hey a guy can dream can't he? Larry

Hi Larry, It's not often at all that someone exactly duplicates their PR, so congratulations on having two PR 10K races! You did a great job on getting on pace after what seemed to be a slow start because of the grass and crowds. You also did a nice job of keying off other runners, bands, and little dancers to find the motivation you needed to PR again. Great racing! Jay

Larry, Good job on matching your PR! Without the crowds at the beginning you'd beaten it for sure. It was great that you met Marathon Derrick too. Yep, continue to run and continue to dream. huskydon

Of course a guy can dream!! Then turn it into reality! Nice race. If you had know you were about to tie your PR, could you have shaved a second off somewhere?

Nice job! You're gonna have to start tracking thousandths to figure out your next PR, like they do in the Olympics!

Those coincidences, whoa....they just add up to a message from the universe that you are doing the right thing! You ran so well. I think Ribs is right about you. Well done!

Nice racing and report Halllar.

nice job Larry - you ran a great race!!