Notes
25:00 WU
33:53 10k race
12:00 CD
What a fantastic, surreal night. Ali placed second in her 10k debut with a time of 34:00, and we were able to celebrate great races and post-10k runners' highs together. :) The field went out slow (86), but Coach told us to be patient and not take the lead.
I worked my way up to Ali, and we both made a move to the front of the chase pack, zeroing in on the one girl who went out way ahead of the field. I caught the leader and ran on her shoulder part of the way, listening to Coach's instructions each lap. A little after the 2-mile mark, I made my move. The straightaway was clear in front of me, and the only thing on my mind was that this lead could be taken away from me any minute. I clipped away entirely based on feel, and Coach was instructing me through overlaps. Crazy enough, I missed lapping the original leader by less than a tenth of a second at the finish.
I was alone for the rest of the race, but working on lapping people kept me alert. Coach would give me little goals -- catch this pack in 3 laps or less, be patient getting this girl, etc. It was like a game. Things didn't get too difficult until about 10 laps to go. I started counting laps, but having coaches on each corner of the track helped me regain focus on the competition at hand. I had absolutely NO IDEA how fast I was going until I saw the clock on the final straightaway. The best part was seeing Ali finish runner-up and share my joy for the 10k. We are going to have a great season training and racing together.
Coach was smiling so much during the race, and it was SO MUCH FUN. Our plan was for me to shut off my brain, not care about splits, and simply listen for his instructions. The plan worked so well, and it was definitely worth coming out of my comfort zone to execute it. In 2014, my mom watched me run this race on the computer with my dad. A year later, Ali and I nabbed the first two spots to do her proud. It is a beautiful feeling.
Did a GS set and four strides in trainers on the infield post-race. The next day, we found our splits for the entire race on the results page online. I closed in a 75 for the final 400m, and Ali closed in a 73! We both have fuel in the tank to run faster next time around...I'm stoked!
Race splits: http://www.flashresults.com/2015_Meets/Outdoor/03-27_RaleighRelays/008-1-01.htm
5k splits: 17:08, 16:45