Notes
Very pleased with the performance and the result -- new 10K PR by almost 1:20. Corresponds to a 3:27:30 marathon under McMillan, so I think it also confirms what I thought about my marathon conditioning.
The plan was to get into target pace (7:10) in miles 1 and 2, hold that pace in miles 3 and 4, fight to hold pace in mile 5, and then see what happened in the last 1.2. Mile 1 came in slightly faster than target, but I settled in by mile 2. Three and four went down exactly on plan. Five was a struggle, but I only missed by 2 seconds. I knew I wasn't going to be able to increase pace in six, so I decided to simply hold again, and finished with a nice set of consistent splits pretty much right at plan.
My endurance conditioning payed off huge today. I was running with a lot of guys at my pace or slightly faster through mile 4. Then I started slowly dropping them one by one in the last two miles. Since my pace didn't pick up, I know they were slowing down while I was able to hold steady.
I also decided not to get outlkicked at the finish. I didn't have a lot left, but at mile six I kicked into a higher gear to keep some late closers behind me. One guy was coming up very fast and I needed an all-out sprint in the last 100 meters, which I mustered, accompanied by a loud, primal grunt that drew laughter from the folks watching the finish. I smiled, and more importantly, I kept the bastard behind me. Small victories.