After running six 5Ks this summer and doing fairly well in all of them — even those run in pretty unbearable weather conditions — I gave the 10K another shot.

Semi-spoiler: I still hate 10Ks.  Maybe even more than I did before.

Supposedly, I can run 10K at a 7:08 pace.  Wanting to err on the side of caution, as always, I decided to shoot for 7:15 or so.  The course is flat; provided there isn’t a strong wind, it’s not so hard to settle into a  pace and stick with it.

Because the R train sucks, I ran the 6.5 miles to the start.  I was coming off my first 50-mile week in ages, so I felt a little beat up.  Okay, I felt completely crappy.  But I tried to console myself with the thought that there have been plenty of times when I felt horrible during a warm-up and still managed to run a decent race.

Not ideal, but definitely better than it could have been.  I’m also glad I didn’t pay attention to the forecast that said it would be cloudy and leave behind my sunglasses, because running in the full sun (no shade on the course at all) without them would not have been very enjoyable.

I ran this race in 2013; don’t ask me how, since as soon as I finished I was unable to walk without a severe limp because my knee hurt so badly.  Imagine my horror, then, when as soon as the race began, my ITB squawked.  Loudly.  I really don’t need a repeat of that!

It did quiet down.  Kinda.  I settled into my chosen pace pretty easily, and was happy to see that it didn’t feel as deathly as I’d feared.  I started relatively close to the front, and a couple of females passed me almost immediately, so I knew I probably wasn’t going to be contending for top three this year.

There was a little headwind during the second mile, which I didn’t mind too much.  The course is out-and-back, so any headwind now should translate into a tailwind later.  (Key word: should.)  Some random spectator running in the opposite direction gave me a big goofy grin and a thumbs up and said, “First lady!”

Which was aggravating, because I knew for a fact that it wasn’t true.  It took me a minute to realize that he had a heavy accent, and what I heard as “first” might actually have been “fourth.”  The thought supplied sufficient motivation for me to overtake the woman directly ahead (to be fair, she had started coming back to me anyway), even though I was apparently slowing down here because 10Ks suck and I can’t believe I’m doing this to myself.

That was a bit before the three-mile mark, so I could already see the runners ahead of me on their way back.  I counted the women, and I only saw two.

Back to that whole “headwind now means tailwind later” thing.  Yeah, doesn’t work that way.  The last two miles were difficult.  I’d worry that I’m just making excuses for doing a crappy pacing job, but a few other runners who finished around the same time said they felt the same way, so I guess it wasn’t only me.  Still, it ticks me off.

If I had managed to keep my pace around 7:19, I would have been okay with it, even though that’s still slower than my goal.  I just don’t like the way it looks like I completely fell apart at the end there.  (Well, that last quarter mile doesn’t show it.  I was determined to overtake the guy who had been tantalizingly out of reach for the last mile.  I did.)

Notice anything amiss?  Yep, apparently I can’t count, because the fourth place specialist strikes again.  (It’s a small consolation that the woman I passed midway was in my AG.)  I ran two minutes (and one second) faster than in 2013, and moved back a place.  Lovely.

Per my Garmin: 6.25 miles in 46:18, 7:24/mi.

Officially: 6.2 miles in 46:15, 7:28/mi.  27/221 OA, 4/108 F, 1/36 F30-39.

Had you told me a couple of years ago that I’d run a 10K in 46 minutes and not be thrilled to bits about it, I would have thought you were insane.  I still think it’s insane, because I’m unhappy with a race when I PRed by almost two minutes.  (1:47, I believe.)

Now I’m going to have to take another couple of shots at this, because I will get it right, dammit!!  On that note, there’s no point in playing the McMillan Prediction Game, since this performance was under par.

There was a finish line video, too.  Talk about horrifying.

6.5 is quite a lot for warm up when it's warm and muggy out.

That's not quite 'completely falling apart' - more of a fade.

Congrats on the PR.  This should make it easier for you to PR next time anyway.

 Supposedly, I can run 10K at a 7:08 pace.  Wanting to err on the side of caution, as always, I decided to shoot for 7:15 or so. 

Those went out the window once the decision to jog to the race was made. That is not a knock, just a dash of perspective when looking at your performance.

Having said that, getting 3 miles at 7:18 and 6.2 steady state at a challenging pace will do wonders for your fitness.

 

Those went out the window once the decision to jog to the race was made. That is not a knock, just a dash of perspective when looking at your performance.

 

Having said that, getting 3 miles at 7:18 and 6.2 steady state at a challenging pace will do wonders for your fitness.

Yup. That's way too long a warmup for an optimal race.

But you still PRed, and now you can PR again at your next 10K! I also don't see a crash-and-burn at the end, just a gentle fade in mile 6. Really nicely paced prior to that.

What's wrong with the 10K race distance? Everyone seems to be whining about it - except those marathoners who whine about 5Ks. Before all these 5K charity runs sprang up in the last 25 years, 10K was the commonest race distance with 5M a close second.

What's wrong with the 10K race distance? Everyone seems to be whining about it - except those marathoners who whine about 5Ks. Before all these 5K charity runs sprang up in the last 25 years, 10K was the commonest race distance with 5M a close second.

In my experience as I mentioned before:  for me it is nearly the same pain as a 5k for (more than) 2x as long...

 

Yup.

 

At any rate good job.

 

Next time - no 6 mile warm-up.  Unless you are racing 100 meters...

So... should I run the ten miles to the start of the Fifth Avenue Mile?? 

 7:15 is not jogging!  I wish it was, but ... nope, it's not.

I think you misread my post. Yes, I am sure of it.