As it, turns out I still suck at 10Ks.
Ok, maybe I’m being a little hard on myself, or maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe, I cared too much about the time on the finish clock. Actually, all of the above sounds about right.
My 10K PR before the race was nothing I was proud of (see above reference to history of 10K suckage), and I was so sure of a significant improvement at Saturdays race even though I hadn’t been training for a 10K or doing much in terms of workouts since the holidays. Maybe running in all of the cold weather last week caused some sort of delusional thinking.
Anyways! Woke up race morning feeling pretty good and did the usual stuff – ate a piece of toast with peanut butter and banana, had some decaf coffee and digested before heading out. The weather was so odd – 50 degrees, humid and misty/foggy with some drizzle – and I ran about 3 miles to warm up while hoping the heavier rain would hold off until we were finished.
Miles 1, 2, 3: 7:38, 7:34, 7:14
The race started right before the 102nd street transverse and went counterclockwise around the park for a little more than a full loop – harder and hillier than clockwise, if you ask me. Before the gun went off, Peter Ciacca warned runners of icy patches on the Harlem hills left over from the recent storm and deep freeze, which were the first few miles of the course. And he was right! It was a little dicey in some spots, but runners were great in letting others know where the spots were – especially Mary Wittenberg, who raced near me the first few miles. I took the first few miles a little slower than I would have liked partly because of the ice and partly because the Harlem hills are just a bitch. Fell into more of a grove by mile 3, but didn’t feel as awesome as I had hoped.
Miles 4, 5, 6, .2: 7:30, 7:38, 7:23, 7:15
I couldn’t get my legs to go any faster during mile 4, and mile 5 included Cat hill, which having towards the end of a 10K is just mean. I think it was around this time I started to really wonder why I signed up for this race, and why the hell I signed up for the Manhattan Half at the end of January, which is TWO loops of Central Park. So hard to PR on those hills. Started feeling a little better after Cat hill, and looked at my watch for the first time in a while at the 6 mile mark, which was around 45:30. Just keep going and try to break 47:00, at least! I told myself. That and beating this dude in cargo shorts ahead kept me going and I just tried to haul ass to the finish line.
Official: 47:01, 7:35/mile. This is one of the first times finishing a race where I felt disappointed in myself upon looking at my watch. Which is really annoying, because had I not looked at the watch and based my feelings on effort and mentally getting through a not-so-easy race, I would have been fine with it. Numbers are a lot of what drives my training, whether it be to BQ (always), PR or hit a certain pace during a run or workout. Sometimes I feel like I need these numbers to base my success (or failures) on, and they can either be really validating or extremely disappointing.
shorts in January? ok…
Having not BQ’d in either of my marathons this past fall, I think I did a pretty good job basing my feelings about each race on the circumstances – neither of which were close to ideal – and how I dealt with them rather than finish times. I truly enjoyed both of those races, and that’s what I remember above any numbers. Saturdays race was a nice reminder to get back to that mindset, look at the positives and move forward. I still technically PR’d, got in a great workout and had some fun. And let’s be serious, PR or no PR, I’m not winning any races any time soon – I do this for fun. Getting to a goal, whether it be numbers based or otherwise, without enjoying the ride would kind of defeat the purpose. Am I right?
Happy Running! 