Army Ten Miler Race Report (Read 541 times)

I joined 28,000 of my closest friends for the Army 10 miler this morning. Weather was perfect if just a bit too warm. 58F at race time. The course is generally flat with a few slight hills, the most significant at mile 2 with a nice downhill section at mile 3. Hill is probably an overstatement.. Before the race, the Army's parachute team, the "Golden Knights" jumped in. I'm afraid one of them had a malfunction because he came down really fast and looked like he crashed into or near the Pentagon. I'll be curious if it doesn't make the news. Then there was a flyby by 3 blackhawk helicopters and the race was starting. It started in two waves. I was in the first wave and it took me little more than a minute to get over the starting line. First mile was not held up by the crowd but I did have to dodge between some folks to stay on pace. First mile finishes just short of Memorial Bridge crossing the Potomac River. Mile 1 split 7:33 (159bpm), about 15 seconds faster than intended but I felt good so I went with it. Mile two goes around Lincoln memorial down past the Vietnam Memorial. Crowd starting to thin out a little bit. Mile 2 split 7:22 (169bpm). I knew I was pushing a very high heart rate at this point but I ignored it and kept ignoring it throughout the race. Mile 3 - Makes a left up a side street and up the only real hill on the course. Water stop about halfway in and we get our first band playing. Good crowd support through this whole section. Its still early and I'm feeling strong so I keep pushing. Mile 3 split 7:21 (170bpm) Mile 4 - Down past the Watergate hotel and the Kennedy Center along the River. I catch my breath a bit on the downhill. In this mile, I start to pass the soldiers who are running on prosthetic limbs lost in Iraq and Afghanistan. Other runners applaud as they pass them and encourage them. Hard to think about any pain you might be in running past these heros. Mile 4 split 7:03 (168bpm) Mile 5 - slightly uphill back on to the National Mall. At this point, I've stopped looking at the sights and am pressing pretty hard to stay on pace. If I were looking I would've seen the Washington Monument on my left and tidal basin and Jefferson Memorial on my right. Crowds get very thick. Mile 5 split 7:17 (171bpm) Mile 6 - I'm no longer able to control my ever rising heart rate so I ignore and press on. I get to see the leaders on the other side of the road as they hit mile 8. They look like they're flying. Mile 6 split 7:09 (173bpm). Mile 7 - Loops in front of the capitol. Great band from a local Catholic High School playing here. Another water stop. I catch a glimpse of a girl wearing an Eagles jersey on the run. A guy next to me breaks out in the Washington Redskins song without breaking stride. I hate him. If he was running faster, he couldn't sing the damn song. My max HR is around 185 so I'm pushing right to the limit and starting to tire. Good thing I'm not paying attention to it. Mile 7 split 7:07 (174bpm). Mile 8 - Back past the good band and down along Independence Ave back towards 14th street. Not much for sights but I get a glimpse of the mass of runners still going towards Mile 6. Still carrying a good pace but starting to slow. Mile 8 split 7:17 (176bpm) Mile 9 - Final water stop of the race right before heading over the endless 14th street bridge. I can see the Pentagon in the distance so it feels closer than it is. For a cool day, its starting to feel hot and I can tell I don't have much left but I push for all I'm worth. Mile 9 split 7:07 (176bpm) Mile 10 - Reached the other side of the bridge and I can't imagine that there is still a whole mile left. I'm fading fast and have developed a stitch. Labored breathing, struggling to hold onto my pace. Garmin is clearly a good minute behind the mile markers so I know I have even more than that to go. 7:28 (174bpm) Last sprint on the Garmin measures .15 miles at a 6:48 pace. Too spent to get my heart rate above 172. I push past the finish at 1:13:44 (a 7 minute PR over last year) and manage to walk a few steps before pulling off to the side and hurling a little bit. Will update once I get my "official time". My real "goal race" is the USMC marathon coming up in 3 weeks. Hope this is an indicator of good things to come.

Nice job, nice report and sweet PR. Good luck at the Marine Corps Marathon. That was one of my dad's first marathons, if not his first.

Nice job, Dave. Awesome race! What a difference a year makes. Congrats on the awesome race and PR!

WOO HOO DAVE!! That is awesome. I knew you were going to do it.

Dave, Great job, sorry I missed you pre-race.

Congratulations on the PR. Good luck with your marathon .... you're ready.

Great race, Tigger. I agree that there wasn't much control on who started where and it took quite a bit of passing. I pushed up pretty far so I didn't have that many people to pass. Official race results are now online. My chip time was 2 seconds faster than I had on the Garmin. I was 1513 out of 18857. Apparently they either had a bunch of DNS' or DNF's.

You hurl at the end and take a 9/10 effort?