10k

Two weekends ago, I ran my very first 10k.  My results were widely reported and followed on facebook, so the world at large is already aware of the main points.  10 kilometers (6.2 miles).  44 minutes, 35 seconds.  4th in my age group (out of 20).  22nd over all (out of 251).  But you weren't satisfied with the facebook account.  How do I know?  Because you're here, which means you want every juicy little detail.

 

I finally got off my duff and registered for the race about a week in advance.  I'd been sitting on the fence for several weeks, and finally just did it.  Apparently that's the way I sign up for all my races now.  (And by all, I mean the 2 I've done in the last 3 years.)  There were both 5k and 10k races that morning, so when I got to the starting line there were many people there, including about half the ward.  For some odd reason, the 5k started first so as the crowd started condensing for that, I headed off to warm-up.  I'd read recently about the importance of warming up before a race, which, of course, makes sense.  The first mile always feels so awkward, until I get into a "groove" so to speak.  In a 10k, that means I'm spending about 15% of the race just getting comfortable.  So, the solution is to warm up for your race by running.  And that's where it gets tricky.  If you want to run 6.2 miles as fast a possible, how are you going to do that if you just went a mile or two to warm up, effectively turning your 10k into a 12 or 13k race?  But, undeterred (and trusting in the wisdom of the internet), I did about three quarters of a mile as slowly as possible.  This has been a big problem for me since switching to running in KSOs.  I have a hard time running slowly in them.  (I know, such a terrible problem to have.)  So, warmed up, I returned to the start line and found the 10k Mormons. 

 

Three of us started out together.  (I anticipated that they would be running the race, I don't think they expected to see me that morning.)  We stuck together for the first 1.5 to 2 miles (no, I was not taking notes while running) before we lost the first guy off the back.  I stayed with the other guy (who ended up finishing 9th overall, oh, and he's 15) until maybe the 2.5 mile mark.  I was trying to run a very even pace for the whole race, and generally did pretty good at that.  This was my first 10k race, but I'd done a few runs which were pretty close to 10k, so I went in feeling confident that I could do it under 47:00 with a stretch goal of beating 45:00.  They had people on the course shouting out times at each mile marker, so I could verify that I was able to stay on my 7:20/mi pace (45:30 10k).  (I don't have any fancy gps-enabled running watches (and I don't need them, thankyouverymuch) so I was wholly reliant on those updates each mile.  I do run with my stopwatch going, which I use to track all my runs, but also to check my cadence periodically.  I like to run at about 185 steps/minute.)  I don't remember all the mile times exactly, but I know I was pretty much on that 7:20 pace at the 5 mile mark (I think I was 10 or 20 seconds ahead total), at which point I cranked it up to as fast as I thought I could maintain for the 1.2 miles left, and hoped I didn't run out of gas.  I managed to pass several people in the last mile.  On the final stretch, with the finish line in sight, I could see 2 or 3 runners that were tantalizingly close, but I just couldn't make up any ground on them.  They were half a block or so in front of me, and I never really made any significant dent in the in the last quarter mile, so I finished without anyone real close to me.  Results show that I was 28 seconds ahead of the closest runner behind me (which was actually one of the largest gaps in the whole field, except for a couple doozies in the top 10.  2nd place was over 4 minutes behind the winner!) and I was 5 seconds behind the guy in front of me.  5 seconds sounds pretty close, and it is in many regards, but at the speeds we were running at it was probably about 70 feet.

 

So I finished.  I was very tired, but not fall-down-collapse-and-puke tired.  Once race results were posted, I was a bit disappointed to learn that the fellow 70 feet in front of me was 3rd in our age group.  So if I'd managed cut 6 seconds out of the previous 44 plus minutes of running, I would have had a top 3 finish (and a medal).  But, I remind myself that it's pretty rediculous to be upset when I'd managed to beat my stretch goal by 25 seconds and that it was the first 10k I've ever raced in my life.  I guess we'll have to leave championship trophies and medals until at least my second race.

 

As I mentioned, I did the race in my KSOs.  I saw only 2 or 3 other people wearing similar shoes.  I had 3 or 4 strangers stop me and ask what I thought of them.  I have no idea how to respond to a stranger in one sentence what they're like, other than to simply say "I like them.  They're a big adjustment though." (I know, 2 sentences.)  Shannon and the girls came and watched me finish, which was nice.  Probably pretty boring for them to go out there just to watch me run for about 10 seconds, but they claim to have liked it.