Sallie Mae 10K

10k, pr, race

Start time: 04/17/05, 8:00am
Location: Hains Point
Distance: 10 kilometers
Finishing time: 1:00:21
Average pace: 9:44min/mile

It was just Pam and me for the Sallie Mae 10K this morning; we stuck together for the first two miles, as my legs started to loosen up and I just enjoyed the fresh air and the sun beating down and shining off of the Potomac River. After two 10:30min/miles, I picked up the pace a bit; I knew that my previous best for a 10K was at a 9:50min/mile pace, so all I could think in the back of my head was that I’d ended up “80 seconds behind”. That doesn’t sound like much but when the entire course is only 6.2 miles long and you’re already 2 miles in, that’s a lot for me. I’d been doing a 4:1 run:walk ratio and I kept it up for miles 3 and 4, where I started to shave off a little bit of time; after mile 3 it was down to 70 seconds behind, and after mile 4 just 50 seconds behind.

I took one final walk break about halfway through mile 5 and then it was running all the rest of it in; when I hit mile marker 5 I was “behind” by just 20 seconds. I knew that if I kept up the pace I was on I was pretty well set to beat my old PR. As I hit the final marker with two-tenths of a mile to go, I glanced at my watch… tons of time to spare, thank goodness. I was now ahead of schedule by about 30 seconds. I got one final boost when about 250 feet from the finish line someone started sprinting past me, and I wasn’t ready to let this stranger win; I picked up the pace myself and ended up racing him across the finish line. (I won, ha ha.) The final result, 1:00:21, knocked 39 seconds off of the previous PR.

I have one more 10K scheduled (the Capitol Hill Classic 10K) on May 22nd. I think if I drop the walk breaks after the first mile or two I can knock off some more of those remaining pesky 22 seconds; it’d be nice to get a sub-hour finishing time one of these days. Until then, I’m happy with today’s victory. (Pam did really well too, coming in about ten minutes later. No PR for her, unfortunately, but I know she will next time. Things just didn’t seem to be aligning for her today.)

Another quickie

03mi

Start time: 04/14/05, 6:30pm
Location: Local neighborhood
Distance: 3 miles
Average pace: 9:28min/mile

I was actually planning on a 5-miler yesterday but right as I was heading out the door, the phone rang and it was invitation for dinner with a friend of the family who was in from out of town. So, two quick zips around the “long loop” and I called it a day. The Sallie Mae 10K is this weekend so that should be entertaining to see how that all turns out.

A quickie

04mi

Start time: 04/12/05, 8:00pm
Location: Gold’s Gym
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 10:38min/mile
Time: 42.5 minutes

It kept threatening to rain this evening, so I gave up and went to the gym… and oops, I forgot to update my credit card expiration date information. Ah well, it didn’t take long to sort out. That’ll learn me!

What a beautiful day

06mi

Start time: 04/09/05, 9:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 6 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Average pace: 12:45min/mile

What gorgeous weather this morning… in retrospect, I wish I’d run a couple of additional miles after I finished up with Katie and Manda. It was a nice run, though; I let the ladies pick the pace and relished the time spent with them. When AIDS Marathon starts up again this year we’ll almost certainly be in different pace groups and I’ll miss being with them every Saturday so I want to take advantage of the conversation and companionship while I still can.

3 miles, no waiting… er, that is, walking

03mi

Start time: 04/05/05, 4:30pm
Location: Local Neighborhood
Distance: 3 miles
Average pace: 9:36min/mile

Decided to have my own mini 3-mile time trial to break in my new running shoes as well as to see what pace group I might end up in this upcoming training season. I ran it straight through, no walk breaks, and had a 28:48 finishing time, which gives me a 9:36min/mile time and would put me squarely in the 11min/mile training group. Wow.

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler

10mi, pr, race

Start time: 04/03/05, 8:00am
Location: Washington DC
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Finishing Time: 1:49:02
Average pace: 10:54min/mile

Considering that I haven’t run since March 22nd, I’m awfully thrilled with this result! But OH GOOD GOD WAS IT WINDY OUT!

I’m not kidding here, we’re talking the weatherman warning people about killer gusts of wind. With pointy teeth. Well, maybe not with pointy teeth but you get the idea. What I’d underestimated this morning was the effect of the wind blowing off the water, so while a jacket and t-shirt would have been fine if I’d been running on the W&OD Trail, waiting for the race to start in West Potomac Park was nothing short of nightmarish. *shiver* At least I’d had the good sense to put on running tights instead of shorts, unlike poor Chris, who made me colder just looking at him. It was ultimately cold enough in the waiting zone that I took my number off my shirt and pinned it to my leg because I wasn’t sure the jacket was ever coming unzipped. And of course, with Daylight Savings Time, that’s one hour less sleep. Ugh. I felt like a popsicle zombie.

Once we got moving, though, things were much better. There were just five of us from my group this year (a combination of sicknesses and personal tragedies kept the others away) and we stuck together for the first two miles before one of the runners dropped behind. By the time we cleared Memorial Bridge and were heading into Rock Creek Park, a combination of protection from the wind, a little bit of sun peeking out, and being moving even meant it was safe to unzip the jacket for a while. When the wind did show up, it seemed to almost push us forward on the course throughout Rock Creek Park. I like that.

Around mile 5 it was just me and Randy, and the two of us picked the pace up a little once we hit the turnaround point at mile 6.5; up until then our times were ranging throughout the mid-11s, but we pushed it up to 10-minute miles for the last few. With about half a mile to go, Randy took off and I remembered the times when I used to be able to do the same sort of thing. I think this is a clear sign that I’m now running more to the extent of my abilities; I just don’t have so much unused energy that I can blast through the last half-mile of a race. Last year’s finishing time for me was 2:13:53, so I was pretty happy to nail a new finishing time of 1:49:02, which comes out to a 10:54min/mile average.

Then came waiting for the rest of our group (cold! so cold!) and standing around for 20 minutes as the wind started picking back up—big time—may have been a mistake. By the time the last of our group showed up and we started walking back to the Metro, my legs were beginning to cramp up (which disconcertingly made my toes curl up, something I’d never have happen before but talking to others apparently is not that uncommon). Finally it was back home to a warm shower and then a soak in the tub… the latter of which I managed to fall asleep in. Whoops. Oh well, that’s one for the books. At least the water hadn’t gotten down to freezing temperatures before I woke up; the last thing I need is to catch pneumonia from falling asleep in the bath!

Oh, and for my records (and other people’s curiousity), my mile splits, in order from mile 1 to 10: 11:52, 11:17, 11:54, 11:14, 11:13, 11:24, 11:10, 9:56, 9:54, 9:04.

Back to earlier weekday running…

03mi

Start time: 03/22/05, 8:00am
Location: Local Neighborhood
Distance: 3.75 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Average pace: 9:58min/mile

Ugh. It’s been a while since I got up early to go running on a weekday! (As in, not at all until today in the year 2005.) It was fun to be back out there early again, though, and watch the traffic slowly build up on Gosnell Road. (I have to amuse myself somehow.) Managed to completely and utterly be unable to find my running jacket, so I ended up pulling on the spare one that sits in the trunk of the car, which was ice cold. Brrrrrr. Halfway through the run I finally figured out where my jacket was lurking. Sure enough, under my running bag in my room. That’ll teach me to not put things away afterwards.

Another 10-miler

10mi

Start time: 03/19/05, 9:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Average pace: 12:00min/mile

We had a huge group on Saturday—9 people—and we started out of the gate at a pretty good clip… Well, for about half of us, anyway. The group started dragging around mile 4, so we took miles 5-8 a bit slower and then dropped them off at home base before knocking out two more miles a little faster again. If there was ever any doubt that those in the group who continue marathon training this may will be in different groups, it was certainly dispelled here. Right now I’m seeing four or five of us in one group, and the rest in a group or two lower. No shame in being in a lower group, of course; it’s all just what you’re ready for.

Race Day

10k, pr, race

Start time: 03/12/05, 9:30am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 10 kilometers / 6.2 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Finish time: 1:01:00
Average pace: 9:50min/mile

Today was the third time that I’d run the St. Patrick’s Day 10K here in DC; in 2003 I finished with 1:24:18 (13:35min/mile), and in 2004 with 1:22:34 (13:19min/mile). This year I was determined that I was going to hit a new PR by quite a bit.

My mental goal was “anything under 1:05” although in reality I was hoping to be able to average a 10min/mile, which is 1:02 exactly. (Under one hour was the stuff of fantasies.) When I started the race today on Pennsylvania Avenue, my plan was clear: stick with my friend Randy (who would get under an hour easily) as long as possible and then hoof it as best I could the rest of the way. My friend Pam was going for the same plan, and we had several others buddies from our running group who were all also going for new PRs. Suddenly the crowd started moving and we were off.

By the time we hit mile 2, several things were clear. First, we’d just lost Pam and it was just Randy and me. Second, we were slightly off pace for Randy to hit his goal time. And third, I was not going to be able to keep up with Randy for the entire race! Sure enough, at exactly the halfway point (3.1 miles), Randy got ahead of me in the crowd and that was that. I didn’t really mind, though. I knew I couldn’t hang with him the whole way through, and it was exciting enough to actually be in the crowd of runners for a change. Stitch in my side? Pfft! Choking on a cup of water? No problem! Running up that damn hill at L’Enfant Plaza? Well, ok, that thing kicked my ass like it does every year.

When I hit mile 5, I looked at my watch and I had an unrealistic amount of time left to hit under an hour, but under 1:02 was still in reach. I pushed through without walk breaks, and while mentally it felt good, it meant that this was the first time in as far as I can remember where I didn’t have my super-adrenaline-burst to push through the last stretch of the race. I stayed steady, which was good, but I must admit I missed having the ability to zoom towards the finish line, passing people left and right.

Most importantly? This year’s finishing time: 1:01:00, or a 9:50min/mile.

Needless to say, I’m thrilled. A little tired, but thrilled. (Oh, and super-Randy? 55:45. Wow! He’s so awesome.) This time next year, that sub-59:59 finish time will be mine!

Back on the moving sidewalk…

03mi

Start time: 03/09/05, 8:45pm
Location: Gold’s Gym
Distance: 3.75 miles
Average pace: 10:40min/mile
Time: 40 minutes

One final run before the St. Patrick’s Day 10K… a nice little jaunt over at the gym. It’s been a while since I’ve been over there and it was surprisingly crowded. What was everyone doing there? I guess Monday’s nice weather jumpstarted everyone’s exercise again.