Notes
Lone Gull 10k by the beach in Gloucester. Very hot and humid, in the 80s for temp and probably higher for humidity. Went out pretty fast, I wanted to stick with a pack to draft so I tried to stick with the tail end of the lead pack. There really wasn't any good 2nd pack anywhere close, for the first mile at least. Felt decently comfortable so wasn't expecting the 5:04 first mile. I had kind of an "oh, shit" moment and I think some other people did too so a second pack seemed to form that was a more reasonable pace. Through 2 miles in 10:22, and 3 miles in 15:46. Still felt comfortable through 2 and into 3 but was getting more tired as I neared the halfway point. After 3 miles I was feeling pretty tired and that 4th mile was really tough. I knew it was an important mile but I struggled to keep pace. Slowest mile at nearly 5:40 pace. 5th mile wasn't much better timewise or in how it felt, but I knew I was getting closer to the end. I was just trying to hang on but someone came up behind me and encouraged me, and I was able to dig deeper and run a strong last mile. I was able to pass a couple of guys before coming onto the finish.
Timewise this wasn't what I was hoping for, but the weather definitely presented a handicap and I'm sure running Derryfield the day before didn't help. I felt pretty sore yesterday from that and while today wasn't really that bad I still felt it a little. I can't be too disappointed, I'm sure if I was more fresh on a cooler day I could have ran sub-33 or faster. And this is also a PR over my previous 34 flat, although that isn't saying much cause I haven't had a good 10k before this. Glad I didn't die completely though cause I gotta get used to these longer races. Got the 10 miler coming up and of course the marathon after that. I had a tough middle race for sure but I wouldn't say I died in this race like I have in previous longer races. I think I still had pretty good strength through the race. Late race strength may be another thing to focus on in late winter and early spring once I really start upping the mileage again but I think I'm in a good place right now.