10K with a side of PR

It's been my goal to run a 10K in the 38s for about 10 months.  I missed my 10K goal race, due to a funeral, when I was in top shape last fall.  Shortly after missing it I ran a 10K time trial and a huge unofficial PR, but it didn't really count despite making me feel a lot better at the time (see this post).  I had a few races where I was close (39:1X) and felt that if a variable out of my control had been different I would have made it (i.e., not having to run really wide turns around or weave through masses of slower 5K runners, cooler weather, etc.), but bottom line was that it didn't happen.

I'd run the Run for a Child's Hunger 10K  in Rogers, Arkansas in 2015 and really liked it, plus one of my best friends lives in the area, so we incorporated it into our Labor Day weekend plans.  My husband and I were discussing my race strategy on our drive down to Arkansas the day before the event.  Since I knew the course and what I'd run there last year (40:22), when he asked about trying for the 38s I said no way.  I told him the 38s were going to take a flatter course, a cooler day, and better rest.  I felt like I could probably run a minute faster than last year, or 10 seconds per mile, so was hoping for 39:20-39:30, but noted I would really would be happy with anything in the 39s considering I didn't taper for the race and we'd been running around on our family getaway for the two days preceding it.  I was hoping to place in the top 3 women and win some cash, but that always depends on who shows up!  Historically the race has always had really fast winning times (35-36s for the top 1-3 women), but there isn't a whole lot of depth in the field.

On race morning, I did my usual warm-up and couldn't quite gauge how I felt, but I wasn't worked up or stressed about it.  I planned to give all I had that day, and that's all I or anyone can do!  There was a delay in starting the race due to a cow on the course (hahahaha! - also right up my alley after my recent experience of helping chase a cow back into a pasture during a 15 mile run, which I don't think I posted about yet), so I spent some extra time looking around me on the starting line.  I saw one female who I kind of knew indirectly who is a pro triathlete and who had beat me at this race last year.  I knew she would be way out ahead of me, as she probably runs in the 36s on a bad day.  I saw another female who looked fast and had on what I thought was a Saucony Hurricanes uniform, making her a pro runner (I later confirmed this via Google here - I promise I am not a stalker!).  They were both talking to another lady who looked very fit, so I felt that my chance at prize money was dwindling!  I did some extra jogging during the start delay, including running out to Jon to tell him about the competition situation.

I only take decent running pics on my warm-ups

My plan for the race was to start conservatively.  The first 1.3ish mile is nearly all uphill, so I planned to run it around 6:25-6:30, knowing I would make up some time in the last 0.7ish that was mostly downhill.  This is a wonderful perk of having run courses before, because I knew that last year I was dying and still made up time in the last mile, haha!  I got out nice and relaxed at 6:25 pace exactly and found myself in 5th female right away.  The three fast ladies I’d been eyeing on the starting line took off probably around 5:45 pace so they gapped me quickly.  I moved into 4th female less than a half mile in, and kind of figured that was where I was going to stay.

Elevation chart

Around 1.25 or so, the course turned, and I could see ponytails bobbing in the distance as the women ahead of me turned.  I saw two women together but then the third woman had lost quite a bit of ground on them.  Once I came around the turn, I kept my focus on her and decided that I was going to make it my mission to pull her in over the next 5 miles.  I seemed to be gaining slightly, and although she had a substantial lead on me, it was clear she’d gone out too fast whereas I’d gone out conservatively, and I knew my first mile would be by far my slowest baring disaster.  Focusing on her gave me a mission and took my focus off my watch, and I missed my mile 2 split completely.  I was also trying to look at course splits vs. Garmin splits to ensure I was on pace per the course miles vs. my Garmin miles, but I missed both of the splits there.  I'd come really close to forgetting my Garmin at the hotel (what Jon said would have been a "terrible tragedy", but what I thought might have actually been a blessing in disguise had I done it), so I just figured I wasn't meant to focus on my watch during the race, which typically works out better for me anyhow.

Between miles 2-3, I continued to reel her in.  I started game-planning in my head.  Should I pull up on her and sit for a while, then try to go with a mile or 2 left?  I didn’t want to pound it too early, and I also knew that I was at an advantage looking ahead to her, whereas she didn’t know I was coming from behind, so it was possible that she would pick it up when I got closer.  She looked younger than me so I knew that I wouldn't want to leave it to a sprint finish either.  I wasn’t sure where I was at time-wise since I’d missed my split, but I also wanted to ensure I ran in the 39s so I didn’t want to run so strategically for 3^rd that I slowed my pace too much.

The decision came easy, as I pulled up on her right at the 3 mile mark on the course (which again caused me to miss my mile split), and at the pace I was going even without surging I blew by her.  She had slowed substantially, probably to 7:00+ pace, and there was no way I was going to slow that much – plus I knew that beating her was in the bag if she was hard off enough to slow that much.  I encouraged her as I passed, and said a little prayer for her because I know what it’s like to bonk in races like that and I knew she was in for a tough second half.

The best I can figure, my first 5K was around 19:30.  I prefer not to know my 5K splits during 10K races, because I end up getting intimidated because not too long ago those were really good 5K times for me!  Having passed the female, I looked ahead to the next male and set my sights on pulling him in.  I pretended like he was another female, and also told myself that he was going to finish in 38:50 so if I could pull him in I would too (I do this often in races - pick a man ahead of me who is going to run my dream time and tell myself that I have to catch him to get that time).  I ended up passing him around 4.5, and he was dying so wasn’t any help to pace with.  I looked down at my watch around the time I passed him to see my average pace for that mile was at 6:01 at that time, and couldn’t help but smile.  I knew I could run a solid final 1.5 miles (and then the 0.2 can be done with nothing left in the tank) – especially because I knew I had a nice downhill coming around 5.5.  I knew I had a sub-40 coming, which was my hope for the course.

I then started focusing on another male, but he was significantly ahead of me so I didn't make much progress towards him.  I missed the 5 mile mark also, but I don’t think it was even marked on the course because I’d run my warm-up backwards on the final mile of the course and hadn’t seen it then either.  Based off my Garmin average, I figured that if I could run a 6:10 last mile, I would actually be in the 38s (surprise!)!  But my math is also horrible towards the end of races so I wasn’t quite sure whether that was really correct.  It was tough running by myself, but I pretended it was the end of a solo hard workout and told myself that if I ran a 6:11 mile at the end of an 8 mile tempo, I could do a 6:10 now!  Once we got to the downhill, that sure helped, and then when I took the final turn and could hear the announcer I sprinted with all I had.  Coming down the homestretch, I could see the finishing clock but couldn’t quite tell if it was in the low 38s or low 39s.  I pushed with all I had (my Strava told me that I set a PR for 400 m with a 1:19, haha!), and once I was close enough to see that the clock was in fact in the 38s I really hammered it.  At the end of races I always want the clock to slow down and my legs to speed up!  My Garmin said I ran the last bit at 5:01 pace, so I had a nice kick (especially for me because my raw speed is horrible relative to my endurance!).  I could hear Jon and Albani cheering, and the announcer incorrectly announced that I was the 2^nd female (I knew that was only possible if one of the top two had dropped out, and Jon confirmed that I was "definitely 3rd" shortly after).

I stopped my watch at 38:44 and my official chip time was 38:43 (gun time was 38:44; 6:14 average pace - official results), and about started crying from happiness!  I’d wanted in the 38s so badly but did not think this would be the day it would happen!  I was also pretty red-lined, and when the volunteers started telling me they needed my chip instead of reaching down and getting it like they seemed to expect me to, I asked who was going to cut it off, haha!  Then I found my family and began celebrating, and sent a few text updates before taking off on a 2 mile cool-down.  My legs felt pretty trashed on the cool-down but at the same time in my excitement I felt like I could go forever!

Not the most clear picture, but the clock is there!

Official times

My friend Mary rocked the 5K while her daughter watched with Albani

Who doesn't love a huge check?

Albani tells her class that we're rich after I win prize money, bahahaha!

Now that I’ve had time to process the PR and what went into it and into several of my past PRs, I’ve decided that the keys to me running PRs seem to be:

1.      Hilly courses that I've run before.  This one had over 200 feet of elevation gain, but I liked the way it was distributed for the most part.  I felt the uphill between 4.5-5.5, but knowing that the downhill was coming made it do-able.  The uphill in the beginning helped ensure that I went out conservatively.  Overall the course had quite a bit in common with the Waddell and Reed half marathon course, which is where I ran my current half PR.  I feel like sometimes I gain more on the downhills than I lose on the uphills, which is not scientifically what is supposed to happen, but I’m going with it! I also think the hills help me focus on effort instead of pace, since they make pacing uneven. 

2.      Going out conservatively.  Sometimes when I’m attempting PRs I get caught up in not “losing” any time in the first mile.  I don’t go out too fast, but going out a little slow seems to work for me better than going out at pace.  I ran slow first miles in this race, and in my half and full marathon PRs.

3.      Not leading or being in contention for overall female.  I think knowing that I’m not going to win a race because there are women in it who are much faster than me also helps.  In some races there is a balance between running to win (especially when there is prize money) and running for goal times, and it’s more mentally taxing to try to do both.  I knew from the gate that I wouldn’t win this one, so I didn’t worry about that part.  I did hope to place in the top 3, but I never actually worried about that because early on it seemed like it was out of the question, and then after mile 3 it seemed like a sure thing.

4.      Focusing on competition and not time.  I always run best when I don’t look at my watch much, and incidentally when I miss my mile splits.  It’s better for me to zero in on race effort instead of a specific pace, and to focus on catching females or if I have the luxury of running with another person (such as with Jamie during my half and full PRs).  Chasing the girl during the first few miles in this one helped a lot, and then chasing men and focusing on lengthening my lead after that was beneficial.  Sometimes I have a harder time keeping my eyes off my watch than others, and some of that I think is a good day vs a bad day thing (i.e., I look at my watch more when I'm feeling bad and running poorly, therefore not looking at it is just a correlation with good days when PRs are possible).

Sometimes I feel like I know a lot about running and competing – after all, I’ve been doing it for over 24 years! – but other times I feel like I am still learning so much.  I hope to take the concepts that I’ve learned and continue to improve as long as I can.  I am thankful for my health and the experiences, and so thankful to have a family who enjoys going to races with me and also enjoys running themselves.  Hindsight is 20/20, and looking back throughout my running career I sure wish I knew then what I know now, but I am thankful to know it now!  I have certainly learned that I need to work with a coach to reach my potential; I will over-train myself to injury and fatigue because I am too type A to make my own schedule.  I’ve learned the benefits of more total miles but fewer hard miles (no, I should not run speed work and tempos 3-4 times a week!).  I also know that I need to not take myself too seriously, and then good performances will follow.  When I really get worked up for a race, I am more likely to have a poor race.  So here’s to enjoying the blessings instead of stressing!