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Austin 10\/20<\/p>\n
My motto for the day was: I have thunder thighs, these thighs are gonna bring the THUNDER today.<\/p>\n
I have always wanted to race a 10 miler.\u00a0 Quite frankly, the last 3.1 miles of the half marathon are, in my opinions, the worst.\u00a0 Story of my life is a great first 10, and then I just can’t hang on through the last 5k.\u00a0 While I’m working on addressing what goes into that (with more strength training, planning for more distance, and a better pacing strategy), sometimes it’s nice to try something you think just fits your natural strengths and that you’ll be pretty good at.<\/p>\n
And so, months ago, I signed up for a 10 mile race and was REALLY looking forward to it and wanting to train for it.<\/p>\n
Months passed, and between lots of slower base running and getting up to speed for tris, the only thing even close to speedwork I’ve done is progression runs.\u00a0 I had envisioned a finish time of something between 1:30 (A goal) and 1:40 (C goal).\u00a0 However, since I’ve not been working up to 9 minute miles, I changed my goal and strategy.<\/p>\n
A time goal: 1:35.\u00a0 I figured if I was having a stellar day, I could potentially pull 9:30s.\u00a0 They’ve been fairly comfortable on select days when I’m in the zone. B time goal was 1:40.\u00a0 10s have gotten easier and easier as I get stronger and the year goes on.<\/p>\n
A pace goal: negative split.\u00a0 Since I’ve been practicing progression runs, I figured what a better way to try out my new skillz.\u00a0 I pretty much have one race strategy: go out fast and try to hold on.\u00a0 I’ve been finding more and more how much this DOESN’T work for me.\u00a0 B pace goal: negative split in terms of effort.\u00a0 Even if the pace didn’t work out, I wanted to feel like I was easing into the first half, and then really pushing it the last half.<\/p>\n
Morning food routine: glutino bar, but I tried something new: a caffeinated tea late.\u00a0 Worked like a charm.\u00a0 This will definitely be my new pre-race drink.<\/p>\n
Temps for the day: 75, overcast and 90% humid.\u00a0 While other runners hate this weather, I love it.\u00a0 I feel warm and loose right away and it’s not so warm that I’m overheating.\u00a0 It’s a lot easier to start out EZ when you’re not trying to save yourself from hypothermia.<\/p>\n
Gear list: cheapo black sweatband and wristband, north face blue tech tank, regular underarmor lucky sportsbra, one honeystinger gel in my small shoe wallet (which I actually clipped to my pants), old and busted grey capris I’ve had forever, wigwam thick socks, and my Brooks Racers.<\/p>\n
Gear notes: get yourself a damn wicking visor already, headbands are so 1980.\u00a0 Didn’t use gel (didn’t expect to but figured better safe than sorry).\u00a0 Don’t wear old and busted pants in humid weather.\u00a0 They will disintegrate around your thighs and chafe like a mofo.\u00a0 The racers were a sort of risky decision that paid off – I had never run more than 7 in them, but all my runs with my other shoes have been crap slow (they were fine until about 9.5, which was NBD). Also I went sans compression sox, because I am vain and they didn’t go with my ensemble.\u00a0 Zliten isn’t.<\/p>\n
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We got moving a little late, and were very thankful that a) the race was only 3 miles from the house and b) it’s essentially right where we work so we knew the secret back entrance.\u00a0 We porta pottied and I got a warmup, and then we piled into our seperate corrals.\u00a0 I was in 4, Zliten was in 8 (he should have been further up, but he put worst case pace, not what he expected, which is fine, he likes starting in the back).\u00a0 No one was respecting the damn corrals (huge race pet peeve).<\/p>\n
Soon, we were off.\u00a0 During the warmup, my legs were sluggish, but as soon as we took off, 10 minute miles felt like a jog.\u00a0 I obsessively garmin checked when I wasn’t fighting off the hoards of people who got in too-fast corrals, and ended mile 1 exactly at 10 mins.\u00a0 Mile 2, I set my sights at 9:50.\u00a0 Garmin ticked 2 miles at exactly 19:50.\u00a0 Mile 3, I tried for 9:45 and there were more downhills than I expected so I came in at 9:35.\u00a0 Mile 4 and 5 were right around there as well.<\/p>\n
Mile 5 saw exactly 49 minutes.\u00a0 I was feeling great, and figured it was time to start turning on the heat… just as the course started turning on the hills.\u00a0 They advertised fast and flat, and that was true… except for the last 5 miles. \ud83d\ude1b\u00a0 To be fair, I’ve run on much worse, but it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.\u00a0 Mile 6 and 7 were around 10:15s.<\/p>\n
I was a little upset I was losing ground but the friggin hills were just steep enough to register, and relentless.\u00a0 I just sort of ignored garmin time and moved to perceived effort, I just tried to go as fast as I could while also not feeling like I would die.\u00a0 The end was also a little frustrating – you get ALMOST up to the finish line and then have to detour for another mile.\u00a0 I didn’t think I had anything left in me but once I saw the finish I sprinted it in.<\/p>\n
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10.15 miles, 1:41:50.\u00a0 10:02 avg pace overall, 9:48 first 5, 10:05 pace for last 5.15.\u00a0 My ranking was higher in the second half than the first half, so I slowed down LESS than the average bear.\u00a0 195\/727 (26% beat me – almost in the top quarter) Age Group, 1075\/3944 (27% beat me – again, almost in the top quarter) in Gender, Overall 2175\/6009 (36% beat me).\u00a0 And, since it’s my first 10, auto PR!<\/p>\n
I finished, got my water and 3 juicebox thingees (the water stops were a little crowded, so I only took in 2 half cups of water and 2 half cups of gatorade so I was DEHYDRATED) and waited for Zliten.\u00a0 He rolled in only 8 mins after me, his official time in the 1:49s.\u00a0 While the big draw of the race was a post-race party, neither of us were into it after walking back to the car, so we headed home.<\/p>\n
This was a huge win for me.\u00a0 I am never good about pacing myself in the first half of a race, and if I really would have went out fast, I know I couldn’t have held on with the hills.\u00a0 I’m pretty sure it would have been more like 9:20s and then 11s instead of an almost even split.<\/p>\n
Speaking of Thunder Thighs, the strength thing seems to be working… I liked all my race pics from this race, and in general, I think my clothes are fitting better.\u00a0 I need to weigh in this week and do my dang measurements, but I’m generally happier about how things fit and how I look.\u00a0 Probably not coincidentally, I managed last week not to eat like an asshole, and maintain about a 800 calorie deficit on average.\u00a0 So, we’ll see.\u00a0 I’m trying to do that again this week.\u00a0 Maybe, just maybe, the scale and tape measure will be kind.<\/p>\n
Either way, I’m seeing marked improvements with my running keeping up the weight training sched 3x each week.\u00a0 I need you all to hold me accountable through half IM training that a strength workout is worth sacrificing more time in the pool, in the saddle, and on the road.\u00a0 It’s a gamble, but I really think getting stronger is the key.<\/p>\n
Also speaking of being vain – I may want to take a great race pic, but this is how I rock it after in the backyard. Note: biofreeze is cold.<\/p>\n
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Next up: another metric century bike ride in 2 weekends, and then ROOKIE TRI in 3.\u00a0 I’m so flipping excited for TRI SEASON I can’t stand it!!!!<\/p>\n