All week, I was undecided on whether I wanted to race a 10k this weekend plus some extra mileage, or just run a 17 mile long run. Yesterday, I decided on the 17 miler and told Flo and the BCR Group that I'd be there. I was going to meet Flo and try to keep up with her brisk 7:30 pace. She was running 23 miles.
Unfortunately, the same thing happened that seems to occur every week. I couldn't fall asleep. I was wide awake and it was 2 AM. I planned on meeting Flo at 6 AM. I couldn't see doing a hard 17 miles with no energy. I decided to message Flo and opted instead for the 10k race.
This allowed me a much needed extra hour and a half of sleep. The 10k is in support of childhood cancer and it took place at my high school's rival, Northampton. One of the reasons I wanted to do this race is because it is somewhat comparable to the D&L Half Marathon that I'll be running in a month. A lot of the run took place on the flat, stone Nor-Bath Trail. The D&L race is on similar terrain and I think the elevation is similar too.
I wasn't quite sure how the course got to or came from the Nor-Bath Trail, so I took a warmup run toward it. I got a nice mile warmup in. The legs felt great and it was a brisk 7:40 mile. I figured that I needed some extra mileage anyway, so I might as well get a good warmup in. I never used to warmup, but it really does get the legs moving quickly. One thing I found out was that there was a nice hill into the high school at the finish.
The sky was cloudy and it was cool before the race. I pinned my number to the LV Running Scene shirt. Of course the sun came up after a did that and it warmed up. The shirt worked, but I was sweating throughout the run and could've used a singlet.
I thought the race started at the big hill, but it actually went around the other side of the school. That meant that I had to cut through a lot of the people to get near the front of the race. I was in no rush, so I just started in the 2nd row. I wanted to be out of the way of most of the people.
There was a group of Northampton wrestlers running together in front of me. I had to navigate around them at the start. That wasn't too bad. I needed to be patient in the beginning anyway. I could here them chanting as they were running together behind me at one point.
Things were nice and comfortable at the beginning. I settled in to what felt sort of easy. Of course the early pace is almost always faster than what you think it is. I decided to count the runners in front of me and I was able to count 12. The one problem was that the 5k and 10k go the same way, so I didn't actually know who was in what race. That was fine though, since I had plenty of time to go.
I passed a couple young people early on. Then I went by two more young folks. The female one was the eventual 10k winner. I was enjoying the early downhill. I stayed not too far behind an older gentleman. I passed another girl, who was probably about 13, and she ended up being the winner of the women's 5k.
After that stretch, things calmed down. I hit the first mile at 6:40. A little fast, but really not too bad for an opening mile. The guy in front of me was running with a younger kid and that kid kept going straight at one point, instead of turning. As we got on the Nor-Bath Trail, the kid passed me back and then started walking when he realized that he wouldn't catch the guy.
For awhile, things were uneventful. I tucked in not too far behind the guy and clicked off miles. I knew there were some small hills coming up and I didn't want to expend too much energy. He set a nice pace, so I followed. I knew there were still a few guys ahead of me, but I had no idea what place I was actually in. Since the course was out and back and the 5k course turned around first, I figured that I would be able to sort things out in a bit.
I was a little worried that the first mile was too hard, so I did back off some in the second mile. I still can't believe how much I slowed though. The second mile was a 7:24 and my overall pace slipped to over 7 minutes. After those two miles, I got into a groove.
As I started going up the hill through a neighborhood, I could see the 5k leaders coming back. There were 3 or 4 of them. I saw that the guy who was leading everyone wasn't with them, so I knew he was the 10k leader. I wasn't 100% sure at the time, but I figured that I was currently 3rd in the 10k, with 2nd place right in front of me.
It felt good when we finally got onto the stone part of the trail. I
run the trail often, so it was also great that I was familiar with it. I
continued along behind the guy.
The one thing that threw me a curveball was that we left the trail and went through a park. I assumed the course was just all out and back on the Nor-Bath Trail at that point. I had no clue where I was running. We transitioned from stone to pavement and my legs felt even better. I went through the 5k point at somewhere around a 21:45. That's only about 15 seconds slower than my last 5k race. I know I'm getting much faster.
We went through a water stop and I refused the water. I figured I could get some on the way back. I was hoping we were coming back that way anyway. As we were going downhill, the leader came back uphill. I said to the guy in front of me, "I guess we aren't catching that guy."
We hit the turnaround point and Scott, who does a lot with the Nazareth programs, was stationed there. It was good to see a familiar face. It was also good to know we were going the right direction.
We came back up the hill and pulled alongside the other guy. A guy walking his dog had to hold it back. I told the guy that was I was running about someone letting their dog loose on a Midnight 5k one time because they didn't think anyone would be running at that time. He started to tell me about this race and how he had to beat his student, which I guess was the kid that was walking earlier.
As I passed the guy up the hill, I could tell he was laboring. I was feeling good and still able to have a conversation. I was worried that it was too early to make my move and that he might pass me back. There was another runner on my heels for awhile too and I thought he might go around me as well. I knew we were quite spread out at this point, but there still could be a guy moving up.
Coming back, it was good to pass a lot of the runners that were still going out. A lot of them said, "good job" and I did likewise. I knew I just had to keep a steady pace. I felt like I had something left for the final two miles. I would be able to push if I needed to.
This time, I stopped at the water stop and took a quick drink. I really didn't need it, but I figured I might as well take some fluids. I got back onto the Nor-Bath Trail and just kept plugging away.
I had no idea how far ahead of 3rd place I was. At one of the road crossings, they stopped a car for me and then let it go after I went through. That's when I first knew that I must have a good gap. After I went a little farther, I couldn't see anyone behind me. I still didn't want to relax.
While I wasn't relaxing, there was also no need to push at this point. I just wanted to click off steady miles. I did just that. When I got to the 5k turnaround point they told me to go right on the road. I didn't realize until later that I was actually supposed to run on the road next to the trail. I guess technically I might've cut the course by a hundredth of a mile or so. It was so minimal that it really didn't matter.
Whenever I could see far behind me, I turned around just to make sure that no one was sneaking up behind me. I was truly amazed at how big of a gap I had. I couldn't believe I was that far ahead of those two guys. I guess I just paced myself well and ran a smart race.
I encountered two women on the path. I think they might've been in the 5k, I'm not sure. Either way, I had to yell to get around them, but they weren't sure which way to move. I said to one of them, "that's okay I'm pretty far ahead anyway."
I was glad I did have something in reserve because the last hill was no fun. It's not hard, but at the end of a race, it was tough. I pushed pretty hard up it. For once, I actually didn't bother with my sprint finish. I cruised around the track, even enjoying the music. The inside of the track was slippery and had no grip, but I just used the outside.
I came in just under 44 minutes with a time of 43:49. I was second overall. That is my best placement ever. Third was my best to that point. That was in a 5k. Since I have hardly ever run any 10ks, I think that was a 10k PR too. Maybe more importantly, I finished ahead of every woman. I've never actually done that before. I was glad I didn't win because whenever I do pick up my first victory, I want it to be while I'm really fast. Now, I'm just in decent shape.
One thing I keep forgetting about is extra tenths of a mile that happen during a race. My watch said that I ran 6.3 miles and it was a 6:58 pace. If you go by the clock time and the 6.2 mile measurement, it was actually 7:03. I have to keep that in mind as I try to break 7 minutes in the half marathon. That might be tough to do, as I can't imagine keeping this pace up for 6 more miles. This pace was probably more appropriate for a 9 mile race. I still had a lot in the tank though. I definitely think I can PR at that race. I don't have a lot of speed yet, but I have good endurance and can click off consistent miles. Much like today, I'll probably be near the front of the half marathon and running alone. That is certainly a challenge.
In two weeks, I'll be in the Runner's World 10k. I plan on racing in that one. It will be interesting to see how my times compare. That course should be harder with hills, but there will be far more competitors. I'd love to PR again, but if I don't I'm not worried about it.
Since I needed more mileage, I ran 1.5 miles before the awards ceremony. It took awhile for the awards to happen, so I could've got more in. I ran along the side and front of the school again.
After the awards were finally over, I put on my dry singlet and headed out to run more. It is funny because I just told Flo and some others that I don't worry about extra mileage on days when I race. Here I was making sure to run extra miles. I was over 48 miles for the week after counting the warmup and cooldown.
I wanted to at least make sure that I got to the same total mileage as last week, 52 miles. I started at my car and continued to the Nor-Bath Trail. These miles were nice and easy and quite uneventful. I just took it a mile or even half mile at a time. I ran out what turned out to be 2.5 more miles from the high school. I stayed on the Nor-Bath Trail because I didn't want any more hills.
As I was coming back, I blew by a guy. He wasn't running much faster than me, but I just wanted to get by and stay ahead of him.
I had some minor issues with my shorts chafing my thighs. I felt it after the race. As I ran now, it got worse. I had to keep adjusting my liner so that it wouldn't keep rubbing. I kept going though, figuring that it couldn't get worse. I even put BodyGlide on earlier, but that was no help.
I came back and ran around the streets of Northampton for the final mile and a half. That was slow and seemed to take forever. I couldn't wait for it to be over. I finally finished up near the stadium and walked back up the hill to my car. I wanted at least 52 miles this week, but I was hoping to hit 55 miles. I was able to do that in the end. For the day, I ended up running over 15 total miles. Not the 17 that I would've done earlier, but close enough.
All in all it was great day. I did about what I expected and I'm very happy with myself. Even though McMillan's running calculator projects my time to 1:37 for the half marathon, I feel like I can run well under that. I can put in good, consistent miles and hopefully my pace won't drop. Running under 7 minute pace will be a stretch, but I should be fairly close.
I have off tomorrow and I'll definitely need it. I'm hoping to get to the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton. A bunch of friends are running it. I need to look at the map again and make sure I find some points of easy access. I also want to make it back home for the Eagles' game versus the Steelers.
1 mile - 7:40 (7:40 pace)
RACE 6.3 miles - 43:52 (6:58 pace) - Official chip time - 43:49
8 miles - 1:09:53 (8:44 pace)
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