Grandma’s Marathon: Opening 10K

The first 10K of a marathon is kind of like the first day of a new school year or a new job.  You're excited and euphoric, it feels easy, and anything seems possible...but on the other hand, you know it's only a small portion of the work.  As I've gotten faster at the marathon, I've noticed that marathon pace isn't as easy as it used to be, even early on -- but thanks to tapering and race day magic, it's still the easiest 6:25-6:30 paced miles I've ever run!

The race was crowded initially, but thinned out over the first few miles.  I was running with/near Nichole and we were hitting the miles just as we wanted.  I felt comfortable and was also happy that cloud cover had rolled in.  The first 4 miles of the race was the only time I monitored my splits, and they were right where I wanted to be starting out.  I was hoping they would feel even easier than they did, though, since those first miles were a net downhill, but I chalked it up to needing some time to fully warm-up.  I also reminded myself that while it wasn't extremely easy, it felt very maintainable.

Nichole's husband took this shot, & I don't
like how I looked but it's all I've got & she
reminded me that we should not be so
critical of ourselves!

I lost Nichole somewhere after mile 4, and although we'd discussed running our own races I was regretful because I love having someone to work with and support.  From then on I never had anyone to run with for very long, but I could always see other runners so it was much better than the nearly 20 miles I ran without seeing anyone in Prairie Fire 2016!

My first bottle was at the aid station just after the mile 5 marker.  The first aid station was at mile 3, so I'd been able to scope out how the elite bottles were placed.  We'd been told they would be on the right side of the road, before the aid station, in numerical order, but I wasn't sure how men's and women's would be distinguished.  As it turned out, the tables were very well-marked with huge signs that said male and female elite fluids, so it was clear which table I needed to go to.

As I approached the first bottle spot, I looked for my bottle and thought I spotted it, but ended up grabbing someone else's that had the same color of duct tape as mine (I think it was F49).  I had to step back to the table and replace hers and grab mine, which I believe is why my mile 6 was a little slower (although looking at the elevation it was also uphill).  If that bottle hadn't had a gel on it, I'd have probably just put hers back and run on to the main aid station, but I knew if I missed a gel that early I'd stress about it, so it was worth a few seconds for peace of mind.  I carried one gel in case I missed any of my bottles, but I didn't want to use it for my first one and have the pressure of being on point with bottle pick up when I'd assuredly be much more fatigued at mile 19.  I held my gel for a bit before starting to sip on it, since I usually start it around mile 6.  It usually takes me about a mile to finish each gel, because I take them slowly to avoid stomach upset (this works like a charm for me; I've never had any issues with gels).

The first course clock was at the 10K, so I knew I was at 39:5X and around 6:26 average pace, which I thought was perfect.  It made me a little sad to compare, because in my last two marathons I'd come through the 10K closer to 39:30, but I also knew that even if I had a dream day, I'd never regret going out a little slower!  No marathon PR is ever secured in the first 10K, but many are lost there.

Elevation for first 10K

Splits for first 6 miles (course 10K was 39:58)