Race Report: DC Road Runners Al Lewis 10 Miler, January 11, 2026

I ran the DC Road Runners Al Lewis 10 Miler last Sunday, finishing in a chip time of 1:17:55.

This race wasn't in my original plan for January.  Plan A had been to run the Jacksonville Marathon in December and then use January to ease back into training.  My back up plan (aka plan B) had been to run the Houston Half in January if Jacksonville didn't happen for some reason (as it didn't).  

However, as the Houston Half approached, it became obvious to me that I wasn't fit enough to justify spending $1000 plus on flight and hotel for that race (yes, I had paid the entry fee, but that was a sunk cost). Plus, the Houston Half was a week earlier than usual, so I wouldn't have the Monday off after the race.

So, I bailed on Houston and shifted to Plan C - mileage and workouts. Tuesday's workout was 7 Iwo Jima hill repeats and then some squats.

Then, on Thursday, my teammate Matt mentioned this race. It cost only $10, and the weather was looking decent if not spectacular (45 degrees but potentially very windy).

The truth was that I really needed to race, since I get rusty if I go too long between races. A $10 chip timed race on a fast certified course in decent weather about a 15 minute drive away was too good a deal to pass up.  It was unfortunate that I had done 7 Iwo Jima hills on Tuesday, but whatever. We were now going with plan D.

***

I had a choice between 5 and 10 miles (essentially did I want to run the course once or twice)?  I chose 10 miles because I thought I would be more competitive at that distance.  Additionally, I always get a fitness boost from races in the 15K to half-marathon distance range - I suspect that's because they are basically extended tempo workouts.

[Plus, as my teammate Matteo noted, the 10 miler was also a better value, at $1 per mile compared to $2 per mile for the 5 miler.]

***

Race morning dawned early as always. Bib pick-up started at 7 am and the race started at 8 am. I woke up, did my pre-run stretching/medication routine (took a Rytary 195 at 6:40 am), and checked the weather. Low to mid 40s, with overcast sky and possible gusty winds.  I decided to race with thin tights, a singlet, and arm-warmers, and also bring a longsleeve shirt in case I changed my mind. 

10 years ago, I would have worn shorts, but I've discovered that now, when my legs get cold they get stiff and rigid, and it's very hard to loosen them up once that happens.  On the other hand, any overheating from wearing tights can be mitigated with a tank top and/or rolling my arm-warmers down.

I got to the race start around 7. After parking I grabbed my bib, pinned it somewhat poorly to my singlet (it's hard to pin a bib on while wearing the singlet), and then returned to my car to shed my winter jacket and do some final mobilizations* before putting on my racing shoes and starting my warm-up.

[*essentially, loosening up my ankles by walking on my toes, heels, outside of foot, and inside of foot for 45 seconds each; followed by some hip hinges, some walking with my knees bent, some backwards stepping, and some cariocas.]

***

I had less time before the race start than I had planned (I should have gotten there at 6:45 am).  I had planned to jog for 2 miles and then start my warm-up fartlek (3:00 marathon to tempo effort, 4x30 seconds a bit faster, and 4x10 second strides).  But I had to cut it down to 15 minutes of jogging and the 3 minute plus 4x30 seconds part of the fartlek.  Oh well - since this was a longer race I'd have time to ease into it.

Then I joined about 200 people at the start line for the 10 miler. It's hard for me to figure out where to seed myself these days, so I just went for about 2/3rds back in the group. It was a small race on a wide course, so things would work themselves out.

The start of the race was a surprise to me. There was no loudspeaker, and while those at the front might have heard "on your mark....go" I was far enough back that I didn't. Fortunately, I had about 10 seconds of shuffle time to get to the start line, start my watch, and start running.

***

I was pleasantly surprised that running in a group was not as much of an issue as it has been in the past.  I've been making a point to participate in weekly park runs as part of an easy run, and I think it's really helped me here. I could tell that I wasn't completely warmed up, but I knew that already.

The race course was an out and back on Hains Point.  The Hains Point route is shaped like a V, with the course starting at the top right of the V, then traveling down and around up to the top left of the V.  Turn around a cone there, and trace your steps back to the top right, and that was one 5 mile loop. The 10 mile runners turned around another cone at the finish line to go back for another 5 miles.

This structure made it easy to mentally break up the race into four 2.5 mile sections - my mental plan was to try to increase the effort after each turn-around cone. Using the first 2.5 miles to ease into the race fit perfectly into this plan.

In those early miles, I noted another woman in my age group - Mary.  It's been at least 8 years since we ran together, but I wasn't surprised to see her about 50 meters ahead of me. I mentally kept an eye on her in hopes that I would be able to reel her in later.

***

I've been working a lot on my body rotation recently when running - one of my big limiters is that my back and hips get stiff and don't rotate, which severely limits my stride length.  So, while one of my goals for this race was to simply get back out there, another was to keep rotating my upper body the whole time. I spent a fair amount of time during the race checking in on this..

I had several teammates in this race, and the double out-and back course meant that we had multiple opportunities to encourage each other - it came to be something I looked forward to each turn.  

The wind had also picked up slightly - it wasn't awful, but just enough that one was a bit slower running into it and faster with it at your back. This was expected (I was actually relieved it wasn't worse, given the forecast).  The wind also had the nice effect of breaking up the course even more, into eight sections alternating headwind and tailwind.

All of these points made the race go by a bit quicker, but 10 miles is still a long race for a rustbuster. As I approached the finish line for the first time (and the turn around cone for another 5 miles) I started to whine mentally. It took a fair amount of effort to shift my focus to the start of the third 2.5 mile section, meaning it was time to pick it up.  Fortunately, there was a trail of runners just ahead of me who were fading, and so I used them as targets to pull me forward.  Unfortunately (for me), Mary wasn't one of them.  Instead, she was pulling further ahead.

***

A long run into the headwind preceded my approach to the final turnaround cone at the top left of the "V." As the cone came into sight, a white one-ton pickup truck (presumably US National Park Service, since this was a closed course) passed me to park near the cone.  As I pivoted around the cone, the race marshal cautioned me to avoid the truck. 

No problem - I definitely saw it.  Internally, I smiled slightly at the universe's latest attempt to troll me by making me navigate around a truck that looked (at least from the front) exactly like the truck that hit me a few years ago. This universe-sponsored white truck trolling happens surprisingly frequently.  Probably because I run a lot on NPS land and the NPS has a lot of white one-ton pickup trucks for maintenance work.

Once safely past the truck, I reminded myself that it was time to empty the tank.  I couldn't see Mary ahead of me anymore, but I reminded myself that anything could happen, and emptying the tank was my best chance of catching her.

The last two miles really hurt.  Racing should always be much more painful than training, and when you haven't raced in a while you lose your tolerance. That's why I generally prefer a 5K or a mile for a rustbuster - because the period of pure suffering is much shorter temporally (even though it seems like forever). But I had entered this race to rebuild that tolerance, so I needed to keep at it.  And, of course, keep rotating my upper body.

Look at that upper body rotation! 
(though I could probably do a bit more)
(picture by George Buckheit)

***

As I approached the finish line, I saw the clock counting down from 1:17:40.  I had told Matt at the start line that I thought I'd probably run between 1:18-1:19 based on my current fitness, so going under 1:18 was something to get excited about.  I did my best to find a bit extra while also continuing to rotate my upper body and keeping my legs loose, relaxed, and unlocked (my legs tend to be so rigid that if I relax them as much as possible when I run, they have just the right amount of tension).  

The clock just ticked over 1:18 as I crossed, but I thought that I had enough of a gap between the gun and my chip start to get me under 1:18 on chip time. Ultimately, breaking 1:18 wasn't hugely significant (it does qualify me for seeded entry to Cherry Blossom, but I had that already). But I really liked the idea beating my predicted finish time, even if only by a few seconds.

After wobbling on my feet for a few seconds, I checked my watch.  Yup, 1:17:55. Cool!

Splits (using autolap on the Garmin since there were no mile markers) were:

Mile 1 - 8:11
Mile 2 - 7:56
Mile 3 - 7:55
Mile 4 - 7:39
Mile 5 - 7:44
Mile 6 - 7:34
Mile 7 - 7:44
Mile 8 - 7:45
Mile 9 - 7:28
Mile 10 - 7:29
last .07 - 31 seconds (7:09 pace).

As always, I ran this one without looking at my watch, just focusing on effort and chasing others. I'm glad I did, because those last two miles were faster than anything I've run on the track (other than 100m strides) in the past few months.

Other notes:

• Mary did beat me by a bit over a minute.  However, we were both beaten in our age group by a woman whom I didn't recognize (possibly new to the area) who ran 1:11-ish.  I need to up my game.
• The weather ended up being 45 degrees with a wind from the north of about 15 mph. So not perfect conditions, but pretty good for mid-January in DC.
• I wore the Hoka Rocket X3 for this race.  I resisted picking them up for a while, because I had read reviews stating that they were stable but very laterally biased.  However, I finally gave a pair a try, and I'm glad I did.  They work well with my gait and are forgiving if my legs lock up.  And they have much better traction on wet pavement than the Rocket X2 (my chief complaint about that shoe).
• My official gun time was 1:18:06; official chip time was 1:17:55.
• The course was certified for 10 miles, and yet the watch read 10.07 miles.  For once, I am going to blame the tangents.  Hains Point has minimal trees and no tall buildings so Garmin error is usually minimal there.  However, the double out and back meant that I had to swing wide at the bottom point of the V when running counter-clockwise, so that oncoming runners could take the inside.  Not a big deal, and I'm still counting the official chip time as my time, rather than whatever my watch said when it beeped for the 10th mile.
• I'm pretty happy that I ran faster than I expected based on my training - it indicates to me that my training is on the right track.
• It is such a privilege to have my body working well enough that I can hammer (and hurt) at the end of a race.  I try to remember this every time I race. Because as much as race pain sucks, not being able to achieve it sucks more.

Race report: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, April 6, 2025

I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler today, finishing in 1:16:07.

I love this race - it's one of my favorites of the year.  I didn't get to race it last year because it was too close to the Boston Marathon.  But this year the two were separated by 2 weeks - enough time to race one, recover, and then race the other. Excellent.

The race started at 7:30 am, and I was in the yellow corral - the first to be released.  I left my house slightly after 6 am and parked, then did some ankle mobilizing drills and put my racing shoes on, before walking over to the Portajohns (just beating the lines that appeared when I exited my chosen throne room).  Since it was in the upper 50s, I checked a bag with a pullover for post race.

I'm noting all of the above in detail for one reason - I ended up not having time to do all of the above AND warm-up sufficiently for the race.  So, I either need to be quicker next time or leave my house earlier.

***

The normal efficiency of my pre-race warm-up was marred by shoe issues.  More specifically, my shoes were too tight. I haven't changed shoes or socks recently, but I have been working on keeping my feet and ankles relaxed when running. When my feet aren't clenching, I need more slightly more room in my shoes. On top of that (literally), my feet were slightly swollen due to the combination of medication and a high pre-race salt intake (because it was supposed to be humid). 

The net result of all of this was that I needed to loosen my shoes slightly.  Since I use no-tie elastic shoe laces, this was a chore. I stopped several times during my warm-up to adjust my shoes, but eventually decided we were at "good enough" and warming up was more important than a perfect fit.

I was at least partially wrong.  As I worked through my traditional warm-up of 3:00 at tempo-ish effort, 4x0:30 faster, 4x0:10 strides, my left sock kept slipping.  Not just a little bit, but completely off of my heel, bunching up under the arch of my left foot. 

I don't think I've ever had this happen to me before.  So I wasn't sure how to fix it. I stopped twice during my warm-up and pulled up my socks as best I could.  And decided that this was one of those things that I would forget about as soon as the gun went off.

***

I entered my corral with about 6 minutes until race start.  As a seeded runner, I was in the first, yellow corral.  In the weeks before this race, I had debated moving back to the front of the red corral.  However, this year the yellow corral was split into three sections, divided by pace.  Since I was in the furthest back section, I decided to stay where I was.

I was so far back that it took 2 minutes for me to cross the start line and transition from the anticipatory congestion of the corral to the free-for-all that is the early miles of this race.  And I did not have a good start.

To explain the challenges in detail - one of my main issues is rigidity. Basically, my muscles are always slightly contracting tight, and running fast requires me to concentrate on relaxing the right muscles at the right time. (Yes, there are medications that help with this, and I take them.  But they're not a perfect fix.)

So, trying to run fast requires a lot of continued thought and focus. Trying to navigate through crowds of people running at all different paces on a relatively narrow road with broken up pavement also requires concentration.  And I can only think about so many things at once.

So the first mile was rough.  Actually, the first three miles were rough, as we ran across the mall and out and back over the Memorial Bridge. Once we were off the bridge, things became a bit easier, and I was able to speed up.  Only to hit a literal wall of people ahead. This section of the course, out and back on Rock Creek Park, was narrow and there was simply no good way to navigate around or through the masses.  

So I bided my time - I knew that we would eventually end up on wider Independence Avenue, and I would be able to open up and make up some time.

***

Things did open up on Independence Avenue, and I picked up the pace per my plan.  And then....my left sock slipped again under my arch. I debated toughing it out for the rest of the race.  But...I still had more than 5 miles to go, and I also had the Boston Marathon coming up in two weeks - I didn't want to tear my foot up or get a compensation injury from an altered gait. 

So, I reluctantly stepped off of the course and quickly fixed my sock once again. My left shoe felt slightly loose, so I tightened it before starting to run again. That seemed to do the trick, as my shoes and socks behaved themselves for the rest of the race.

It's always hard for me to get moving again once I stop, and this race was no exception.  But finally, with 4 miles to go, we hit Hains Point.  There, I finally had room to run and flat decently smooth pavement.  And good shoes/socks.  I opened up and chased down as many people as I could in the last 4 miles.  

I had some issues going up the final hill (actually pretty much the only hill) right before the finish, as I tried too hard to kick and tightened up my muscles in the process - meaning that my body was working against itself.   And then I crossed the finish, with a combination of happiness and frustration.  I had hoped to run much better.  But at least I hopefully got all the hiccups and bloopers out of the way today.

***

Splits were:

Mile 1: 8:24
Mile 2: 8:14
Mile 3: 7:45
Mile 4: 8:22 (long)
Mile 5: 7:01 (short, also includes sock fixing)
Mile 6: 7:30
Mile 7: 7:17
Mile 8: 7:15
Mile 9: 7:08
Mile 10: 7:12

This was a negative split by more than 3 minutes: 39:46/36:21. Which is not ideal for a 10 mile race.  But I guess better that way than the reverse.

Other notes:

• The forecast had been for the low 70s, but instead we got the mid-50s for this race - a very pleasant surprise.
• I only warmed up two miles before this race - I think I would have benefited from more. 
• My sock-fixing break seems to have cost me about 20 seconds, based on my Garmin report (I didn't pause my watch, but was able to look at the charts later and see how long I wasn't moving). So definitely the right call to stop and fix the sock - 20 seconds wouldn't have been worth the risk of affecting my condition for Boston.
• According to the fancy results calculating thing (aka RunPix) - I passed 242 runners after the 10K mark while being passed by 11.  Which again is better than the alternative; I just wish I had been able to pick up the pace sooner.
• I have found that wearing anything tight seems to encourage my muscles to tense, so I went old school and wore split shorts instead of boy shorts.  It did feel like the change helped slightly.
• From talking to others post-race, it seems like everyone struggled with congestion in the first miles, including those starting near the front of the first corral.  The problem is that the course has been narrowed by the addition of protected bike lanes.  The two solutions to this would be a) reduce the field size for the race or b) start the race earlier and reduce the size of the starting corrals.  I understand why neither option is great, but I also think something has to change.

Race Report: Broad Street 10 Miler, April 30, 2023

 I ran the Broad Street 10 Miler today, finishing in 1:10:26.

Last year, I had a slightly rocky trip up to Philadelphia the day before, as first my cab to the train station was delayed by closed roads for a 5K, and then my train was delayed due to an incident south of DC that closed the tracks and blocked incoming trains. So, this year I planned ahead, remembering to ask the cab to route around the 5K, and also booking a train that originated from DC.  

This all worked well, and it was only when I was sitting on my train that I realized I couldn't find an entry confirmation email anywhere in my email.  I had a moment of panic (I knew I had registered).  And then I went to the race website and searched my name under "tracking."  My name popped up with an assigned bib number, and I breathed a massive sigh of relief.

I got up to Philly around 10:30 am, which was perfect timing to a) grab my bib, b) grab Chipotle, and c) check into my hotel to watch the Land Rover Kentucky 3 day event all afternoon before an early bedtime.

***

The race day forecast had been all over the place, from perfect to thunderstorms.  By race morning it had settled on possible rain at the start of the race progressing to more certain rain as the morning bore on.  Fortunately, the temps would be in the low 50s and the wind looked like it would be a tailwind.  After a bit of thought, I went with shorts, singlet, and running cap plus latex gloves under disposable gloves, covered by a throwaway sweatshirt and then a plastic poncho.

I got to the Walnut-Locust train station around 6 am, where there was a train waiting for runners to board - very different from previous years, where I had waited for up to 20 minutes.  I ended getting to the start around 6:30, which was a bit earlier than I had planned.  Fortunately, there is a church by the start line that always opens its doors on race morning to runners, so I checked my bag and then hung out there until it was time to start warming up.

I started my warm-up a bit after 7 am, noting the somewhat steep drop that starts this race.  I've done this race many times, but I keep forgetting just how downhill that first mile is.   I also noted the strong wind from the north (a tailwind).   This was looking like a very fast day.

After doing my standard warm-up (~15 minutes of jogging with some surges, 3 minutes at marathon down to half-marathon pace, 4x30 seconds at 5K effort, and 4x10 seconds at mile effort), I made my way to my corral, entering right before the supposed "7:40 am cutoff" (which didn't happen).  Then I stood there, doing the occasional set of lunges to try to preserve some mobility, pretending that the rain wasn't "spittling" (my new word), and deeply regretting my decision not to wear arm-warmers, until my wave was finally released at 8:05 am.

***

The air horn went off, and the first mile of the race was enjoyable, as always (sarcasm).  It wasn't the crowded mess that Cherry Blossom was, but my legs were really stiff and I couldn't seem to get them to roll down the first mile.  I did the best I could and reminded myself that there were plenty of miles to make up time once I warmed up.

A bit past the first mile marker, things did loosen up, and I was able to open my gait and start rolling.  From then on, I just did my usual - find a tempo rhythm and lock into it.  The rain was an off and on drizzle, and the wind shifted around.  Sometimes I noted a solid headwind; at other times I didn't notice anything - I'm sure that's when I had a tailwind.

My gait never felt great during this race.  Sometimes I have better dystonia days and sometimes I have worse dystonia days, and this was one of the not-so-great days.  I just didn't feel comfortable, and timing mats were hurdles to be navigated, as were the train tracks that cross the course at one point (that I'm sure absolutely nobody noticed or remembers except me).  The combination of wind and rain meant plenty of wet paper cups all over the road, and those were hard also.  I was annoyed at myself, but resolved to keep working through it - what else could I do?

The only other thing of real note during the middle miles was when some idiot (and I don't use that term lightly) standing in the crowds on the side of the road decided to stick his umbrella out onto the race course while opening it. Right in front of me and another runner.  We both yelled at him, and he seemed befuddled as we ran by.

***

Somewhere after mile 7, the weather turned from a drizzle to a steady rain.  It was honestly pretty miserable, but I just reminded myself that the quicker I finished the race the quicker I could grab my checked bag with warm clothing.  I felt like I was slowing during these miles, but the splits show that I sped up, so I guess my rationalization worked.

There are three variants on the Broad Street Course, and as of this year, I've run all three.  The course this year had us turn left a bit after the mile 9 marker and run beneath an elevated freeway for nearly half a mile before turning left again to kick into the finish.   I think this finish, though not at all scenic, is my favorite finish of the three options for two reasons:

1) you finish not too far from a subway station (easier to get back to the hotel after) and

2) this gave us a blissful half-mile or so of respite from the rain.  The road was still wet, and there was a stream or two to be forged, but it was a solid improvement.

I had mapped out the course beforehand, and I knew that I needed to start giving whatever I had left when we hit that underpass.  So I extended my stride as much as I could until I got over the finish line.  As I crossed, I noted 1:10:4x on the clock.  I was pretty sure I had crossed the start less than 40 seconds after the airhorn, so no sub-70 for me.  Oh well.  

***

Splits were:

Mile 1: 7:53
Mile 2: 7:16
Mile 3: 6:58
Mile 4: 6:59
Mile 5: 6:56
Mile 6: 6:58
Mile 7: 7:02
Mile 8: 6:51
Mile 9: 6:48
Mile10: 6:45

And yes, I'm really really annoyed by that first mile.  And I don't have a chaotic mess of a start to blame it on this time.  I need to figure out how to fix that and get my legs to work better when starting a race after standing for a while.

I guess the good news is that I ran this year's Broad Street about 90 seconds faster than last year, so there is progress in some sense.  And a month ago I was happy with 70.2x for 10 miles, and now I'm annoyed.  So that's progress as well.

Other notes:

• I stayed near City Hall this year instead near the Liberty Center.  As much as I love Club Quarters hotels, staying near City Hall made everything so much easier - it was a 3 block walk to the expo, and post race I didn't have far to walk at all in the rain between the subway stop and my hotel.
• A lot of people ran really good races and set nice PRs, with most people running faster than they did at Cherry Blossom.  So clearly the rain and wind wasn't much of a factor - it was a good day to run fast.  
• I discovered post-race that the Reading Terminal Market has gluten free funnel cake and onion rings, and they were divine.
• When taking the train between DC and Philly, one can choose between the faster/more expensive/less stops Acela train or the slower/cheaper/more stops regional.  I intentionally booked a regional train for the return trip so I could get off a stop early, in New Carrollton, Maryland (I'll often do this because the orange line of the DC Metro system terminates in New Carrolton, and it's easier to get on the orange line there and take it home than it is to get to the orange line from DC's Union Station.)  Today I learned that the regional train doesn't always stop at New Carrolton.  Duly noted.

Race Report: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, April 2, 2023

I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler this morning, finishing in a time of 1:10:19.  Which was good enough for me to win a 50th Anniversary Cherry Blossom Mug (my big goal in running this race).  It also got me tantalizingly close to breaking 70 for the first time in a few years.

Many years Cherry Blossom gets great weather, but this was one of the less optimal years.  A complex weather system gave us rain on Saturday morning and then a pleasant Saturday afternoon before a wind storm rolled in on Saturday night, just as I was trying to go to sleep.  

I'm a little paranoid about windstorms while I am sleeping since there's an old tree in our neighbor's yard that could hit our house if it fell the right way.    And...it's not like a tree has never fallen on our house before.  So I ended up spending the first half of the night trying (and failing) to sleep downstairs on a couch as the house shifted and groaned.  (B, for his part, was in his basement mancave doing mancave-type things.)  About midnight, the winds settled down and I carried my comforter and pillow back up to our bed.  I got a few hours of fairly good sleep before the alarm went off at 4:10 am.

The funny thing is that my Garmin decided that last night was a great night for sleep and that I was well rested and ready to face the day.  This is in contrast to the norm, where my Garmin insists most mornings that I need a rest day and have a low body battery when I feel totally fine.  I felt like crap when I woke up, but I decided today was a day to believe the Garmin over myself.  At least in terms of quality of rest.

***

A bit after 6 am, I left the house.  This was once again just the right time to grab my supersecret parking spot at 6:15.  Once parked, I changed into my racing shoes and confirmed my clothing choices.  

The forecast was for low 40s with sunshine and high wind.  Wearing thin tights on my legs was a given - in the last few years my legs have performed best when warm, even too warm.  As for my top, I went with a tank top and arm-sleeves after debating whether a longsleeve might be better.

I stepped outside and immediately could tell that a longsleeve was going to be too much for a race this long.  So tank top and arm-sleeves it was, and the longsleeve went into the bag I was going to check.

***

After bag check, I started to warm up.  I went with my standard warm-up routine of about 17 minutes jogging, followed by 3:00 at marathon-to-half-marathon pace, 4x30 seconds at 5K effort, and then 4x10 second strides.  17th Street was once again blocked off to traffic, so it was an ideal location to do some faster running.  Then a bit more jogging before I entered my corral about 7:20 am (the race started at 7:30 for the masses).

The corral was easily the most packed corral I have ever seen.  I don't know how I fit in there, but some how I did.  I don't remember it being that packed in the past - I suspect it's that way because 15th Street (where the race starts) is now narrower due to the installation of some bike lanes, but they haven't lengthened the corrals or reduced the # of people in each corral.

It was a very compressed 10 minutes waiting for the start.  I wanted to do a calf stretch, but no room.  Heck, it was difficult to remove my throwaway sweatshirt without bumping someone else. Another runner, a little taller than me, did manage to elbow me in the nose while checking the time on his watch.  He felt awful, but I reassured him that I didn't need my nose to run, just my feet, so no prob.

***

With a corral that packed, it was no surprise just how much a mess the first mile was.  I don't recall this race being this crowded in the first mile before - some of it may be the narrowed road due to the bike lane, and some may be that I'm starting a lot further back than I used to.  Or perhaps it was always this much of a mess and I was just in front of it before.

Regardless of the cause, it was rough. I had intentionally placed myself on the left side of the corral since the first turn was to the right, thinking that I could swing wide and avoid some of the chaos, but chaos was everywhere.  I struggled with my dystonia flaring, and I fought to get it under control.  But as soon as I got it under control, there was nowhere to go - too many people everywhere.    So I accepted that this was going to be a slow first mile, and that I'd have to wait until there was a bit more room.

Finally, somewhere around the second mile, things got a bit less crowded, though still quite busy.  I started to work on opening up my gait and relaxing forward, and began to reel people in, which I would continue to do for the rest of the race.

***

The wind was a significant factor - It was blowing from the northwest at around 25 miles per hour, with gusts higher.    This meant that some miles had a very strong headwind, some a very strong crosswind, and some a very strong tailwind.    It also meant that there were twigs and branches all over portions of the course, and paper water cups everywhere at each water stop.

As best I could, I tried to hold a steady effort, while also being strategic and taking shelter behind others when I could in the headwinds, and then opening up when I had an opportunity.  I felt my hamstrings grow tired early - a consequence of balancing against the wind, I think.

The last few miles up Hains Point to the finish were mentally and physically exhausting.  When we hit the hill at the 400m to go point, I tried to hammer but my legs felt like lead.  Then I topped the hill and saw the finish line about 150m ahead and downhill.  I managed to run this downhill decently - not flying like I used to, but I wasn't tripping over my feet either.  And that made me very happy.  

As I crossed the finish line, I glanced at the clock and noted 1:10:4x. (Like always, I didn't check my watch during the race).   I wasn't sure how long it had taken me to cross the start line after the gun, but I was sure it wasn't 40-50 seconds, so I hadn't broken 70, which was my pie-in-the-sky goal.  At the same time, I had run under 71:19, and so earned an anniversary mug (more on that below), so I was happy.  Plus I felt like there were a lot of positives from the race, including the improved downhill finish.

Also, I was cold and very sick of wind and just ridiculously happy to be done.

***

Splits were:

Mile 1: 7:53

Mile 2: 7:13
Mile 3: 7:01
Mile 4: 6:53
Mile 5: 6:52
Mile 6: 6:55

Mile 7: 6:44
Mile 8: 6:46
Mile 9: 7:04
Mile 10: 7:00

(Miles 4, 5, 7, and 8 had the strongest tailwind, while miles 1, 3, 9, and 10 were the worst for a headwind.)

When I finished and first checked my time, I assumed that the wind was my main limiter in breaking 70.  But as I look at it now, it's pretty clear that the mess that was mile 1 was the biggest factor.  Which of course is motivating me to go up to Philly and race Broad Street next month to see if I can get under 70 there.  (Broad Street is an even bigger race than Cherry Blossom, but the street is a lot wider also).

But in any event, I got my mug, so I'm happy.  As background for the mug....Cherry Blossom was first run in 1973.  The winning times that year were 51:22 for men and 71:19 for women.

(Yes, there's a big gap there - that's because women's sports weren't encouraged then the way they are now.  Now, the gap between men's and women's performances at 10 miles is closer to 5 minutes, which matches the 10-11% differential we see in running at all distances between 100m and the marathon.)

Anyhoo, on every 5 year anniversary, Cherry Blossom gives out a mug that says "I would have won this race in 1973" to anyone who runs faster than the winning times for their sex that year.  And I really wanted a mug. Everything has changed in the last few years, and paces that were once easy are now impossible.  But getting a mug seemed like something that was in reach, and it feels really good and even dare-I-say normal to have set a goal and accomplished it.

My precious

Other notes:

• I went with the Metaspeed Edge+ for this race - that's really my long distance racer of choice now, though I haven't tried the Vaporfly in some time.  Since my gait seems to be improving, perhaps I can try the Vaporfly again.
• The weather was 48 degrees with a dew point of 33 degrees and sunny.  Just perfect weather, if not for the darn wind.
• Since it was cool, I went without a water bottle for this race.  Definitely no need to drink during this one.
• A lot of good things here - I ran this race 80 seconds faster than I ran Broad Street last year.  I handled downhills better, tailwinds better, crosswinds better.  I was never alone on this course, but the dystonia only flared during the initial crazy packed miles.  So progress.
• Thin tights, a tank top, and arm-warmers were unquestionably the right choice today.
• I don't think the lousy night of sleep last night affected me at all (maybe the Garmin was right).  I made a point of getting 9+ hours of sleep on Friday night, and I think that carried me through.
• This was a no caffeine/no chocolate race.  I used to always take a fair bit of caffeine on race morning (in the form of a GU or Cliff gel), but I've discovered that it seems to make the dystonia worse - when the dystonia flares, it flares more strongly and is harder to get under control.  A bit of dark chocolate felt like it was perking me up without the strong effect of caffeine, but I've experimented with and without, and it seems like I run better without.  Sigh.
• In terms of improvement, this race is a slightly worse performance than the half-marathon I ran last month.  But...that half was in perfect weather while this was not.  So I'm thinking this shows improved fitness.  Additionally, my 15K split here was 65:37, as compared to December 2022 when I ran 66:14 for 15K in perfect weather on basically the same course.  Yup - things are definitely moving in the right direction.  I'm not forgetting about my old performances entirely, but it is nice to focus on the past two years and see the relative improvement.

Race report: Broad Street 10 Miler, May 1, 2022

 I ran the Broad Street 10 Miler today, finishing in a time of 1:11:40. 

My pre-race adventures were a bit messier than my normal preference.  The weekend started off with a Friday night wedding for one of my partner's best friends.  Definitely not the best way to spend the evening 48 hours before a race, but it was what it was, so I just went with it and tried to enjoy the wedding and not worry too much about the lost sleep.

Saturday I took a cab to Union Station to catch my 10:20 train up to Philly.  I chose the cab, rather than Metro, because Metro has been very unreliable on weekends.  However, what I hadn't planned on was a race closing down downtown DC, adding an unplanned 15 minutes onto a 12 minute trip.  Fortunately I had left early, so I still had enough time to make my train.

[I realized pretty quickly that the road closures were for the Purple Stride 5K - 5 years ago I set my 5K PR at that race.  So I really couldn't get too annoyed with the road closures. The road race giveth and the road race taketh.]

Of course, my train was then delayed, with multiple changes and uncertainty on the departure board - apparently a car was blocking the train tracks south of DC, delaying my train from rolling in.  Eventually the train did arrive and then depart.  The delay was actually good for me, as I was hungray and the delay allowed me to buy Chipotle in DC and eat it on the train (my seatmate might not have seen it in the same light).

Once I was on the train, things were relatively smooth.  I got to Philly, snagged my bib, and then settled into my hotel to watch the cross-country phase of the Land Rover 3 Day event.

***

Sunday morning I awoke to much better weather than the last time I ran Broad Street.  High 40s and not much wind - really ideal.  I ate breakfast, pooped, and stretched, and then left my Center City hotel at 5:55 to grab a train to the start.

[Broad Street pro tip - the trains running from south to the start line in the north fill up quite early, so if you have a choice of two train stations, go with the one further south.]

My bad transportation luck continued, as I waited a full 20 minutes for a train to roll in.  Finally one did, and I was on my way to the start, arriving there around 6:45.

This was just enough time to use a restroom, check my bag, and warm-up.  At Broad Street they want you in the corrals early, so I jumped in mine at 7:40 and hung out.  I had a seeded bib which meant I could start at the front, but I knew I wouldn't be running fast enough to belong there, so I re-assigned myself to the purple corral for those targeting 60-70 minutes - I thought 70 minutes might be a reasonable time for me, so I placed myself in the very last row of the corral.

As we waited to start, I noted that it was warmer than I had expected.  I was wearing a tank top, shorts, gloves, and arm-warmers, but I really didn't need the last two.  It was too late to go back to bag check, so I stuffed the gloves into my bra (the race photos are going to be excellent) and slid the arm-warmers down around my wrists.  I also belatedly wished I was carrying a water bottle, but too late for that too.  I'd have to use the water stops like everyone else.

The 8:00 am race start was delayed (it always is) until 8:05, and then there were a few minutes more delay before the purple corral was released.  But finally we were on our way.

***

As I've noted before, I'm currently working my way through some weird neurologic coordination-balance thing, where I'm prone to lose my balance or have one leg or the other go spastic on me while running.  Basically, my muscles stop listening to my mind and start firing out of order.  

These coordination issues have multiple triggers, including downhill running, faster running, running in groups, being passed from behind, and uneven pavement.  I've also figured out that immersion therapy - i.e. putting myself in situations that trigger the coordination issues and then working my way through them - seems to be at least part of the cure (pointing to a psychological aspect).

And that's really why I ran Broad Street - I knew that I was going to hit pretty much every single trigger for my issues while running this extremely large downhill race.  If I could handle this race, then I could pretty much handle any race.  And that's a big step forward.

I hit the first trigger right out of the gate, with the downhill start the race is known for.  I managed to hold it together, in part because it turned out that I had many runners going 9:00 pace or slower in front of me. (why were they in this corral?)  I had to weave, and I'm not good at weaving right now.  But I managed it.  And that's what I came here for.

About a half-mile in, I saw the equivalent of manna from heaven - a woman handing out water bottles.  I managed to grab a bottle from her while running (I was pretty proud of myself for that), and carried that until mile 6 or so.

Broad Street is a pretty consistent race - some very gentle inclines sprinkled into the net decline, and a few turns.  So there's not really that much of interest to note during the race - I just tried to hold a steady effort and let the miles pass.

There were a few patches in Center City where we had to cross brick sidewalks that were slightly uneven - these would not have been an issue for me in years past (or likely for anyone else this year) but I did have to work my way through them.  Ditto for things like the chaos of water stops, or people reaching out to get me to slap their hand, or crossing timing mats.  These were, as crazy as it sounds, challenges for me that required me to really think about keeping my balance.  But again, that's me.  And that's why I ran this race.  Mentally, this was one of the harder races I've run - staying on my feet and holding things together requires a level of focus that I haven't needed in the past.  And 10 miles is a long way to go while working that hard, mentally.

***

Like always, I didn't look at my watch and just tried to ride a hard steady effort.  By mile 8, things were starting to get tough and my gait was breaking down.  I was wobbly and had to really focus on keeping my gait smooth and relaxed.  In a nice touch, my feet were also hurting*.  But I knew I didn't have that much further to go, and also that the point of this race (for me) was to work through that stuff.  If you give up when stuff gets hard, you're not completing the exercise.

[*My feet were hurting because I was wearing my Takumi Sens, which always seem to be either too tight or too loose. In this case, they were too tight, and as my feet started to swell towards the end of the race, what had previously been slightly noticeable became exquisitely noticeable.]

So I held it together as we made a left and then two rights to loop around a baseball (I think) stadium before the final homestretch to the finish.  I knew that the finish line was 800m after the last turn (having measured it on Google Maps), but it really did seem like longer than that.  Part of the issue might have been that for whatever reason, there was no finish arch this year, and so nothing to sight on.

This was compounded by the fact that there was a mat about 100m from what turned out to be the true finish, and this mat had a clock with it.  The end result was that there were two timing mats, 100m apart, each with a clock on them, and neither with an arch.  The fact that everyone ahead of you was still running was the only clue that the first mat wasn't actually the finish.  A definite area for improvement next year.

***

I crossed the finish line (awkwardly, as has been my norm recently) and stopped my watch.  1:11:38 (officially 1:11:40) - a bit slower than I had hoped, but still a much superior performance to the 5Ks I've recently run.  So there's some improvement there (though it also could be that I'm better at 10 milers than 5Ks).

As soon as I could, I pulled over in the finish chute, sat down, and loosened my shoes.  Ahhh....much better.

***

As it turned out, I was concentrating so hard on staying on my feet that I missed a lot of mile markers.  My splits, as recorded on my Garmin, were:

Mile 1: 7:30
Mile 2: 7:10
Miles 3-4: 14:16 (7:08 pace)
Miles 5-8: 28:44 (7:11 pace)
Mile 9: 6:59
Mile 10: 7:00

So, the two miles where I felt like I was totally falling apart ended up being my two fastest.  That's good to know, and a confidence booster - I still can close, even when hurting.

At the end of it all, this is not a personal worst for the 10 mile distance (I ran my first Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in 1:14 and change) but it's not far from it.  It's also nearly a minute per mile slower than the last time I ran this race.  

Despite all that, I'm not upset with this race.  Sure, I would have liked to have run a bit faster and dipped under 70, but at the same time, I feel like I've come a long way in the last few weeks.  Furthermore, I now have the confidence to enter a race of nearly any size and know that I will be able to manage it - that's a far cry from about 9 weeks ago, when the start line of a 200 person 5K was a struggle.  There's a lot to be happy about here.

Other notes:

• I wore my Takumi Sen 8s for this race.  As noted above, the upper does not fit my foot well, which is a shame, because I otherwise really like the shoe.  I was considering wearing them for my June half-marathon, but I think that's a no go.  Hopefully I'll be up to wearing Vaporflies by then.
• The race ended up a bit warmer than expected - mid-50s.  Still great running weather and no complaints, but I do wish I'd checked my gloves and arm-warmers.  At times, we had a headwind, which was annoying, but also nicely cooling.
• I wore a heart rate strap (as always) but it slipped down around my waist at the half-way point, resulting in this amusing heart rate chart.  It's too bad - I was in the high 170s at the middle of the race, and I'd like to know what I ended at.
  
  
  
• My breathing was not great for this race, though I think ultimately my limiter was still my wobbliness and general fitness.  I checked post race, and the pollen was high and the air quality "moderate" so perhaps that was the cause.  Or maybe I'm just whining.

  
  Now you tell me.

  
  
• I did brunch with friends after the race and they had gluten-free tater tots and that was pure win.

Race Report: Miles on the Mohawk 10 Miler; May 30, 2021

I ran the "Miles on the Mohawk" 10 Miler yesterday in Schenectady, New York, finishing in a time of 1:06:57, which was good enough for top master female and 11th woman overall.

The trip up to Albany/Schenectady started off with a minor headache when I realized on Thursday that I hadn't received the normal "we look forward to welcoming you" email from the Courtyard Marriott, where I had booked a room.  A search of my email could not find any confirmation message, and a call to the hotel confirmed that a) I had no reservation and b) the Courtyard was sold out.  Ooops.

Fortunately the other hotel at the finish line - the Landing Inn - was still available.   Unfortunately it was both more expensive and had a non-negotiable 11 am checkout.  But at least it was right by the finish line - my room overlooked the finish.  With my race starting at 9 am, time would be a bit tight after the finish, but doable.  So I booked a room, with relief.

For the next few days I was repeatedly taunted by internet ads reminding me that I had not yet booked my room at the Courtyard Marriot - Schenectady.   Our internet overlords can be cruel indeed.

I flew from Baltimore to Albany on Saturday - my first flight since the pandemic.  I flew Southwest, like I usually do.  I'm a fan of Southwest's irreverent approach to pre-flight briefings, communications from the pilot, etc - any flight you can start with a grin is a good flight (assuming you don't crash - that's my biggest requirement for a good flight).   

But sadly that was absent on both my flights this weekend - replaced by entreaties to be kind to each other and to please wear our masks at all times and we would be wearing our seatbelts the whole flight and there would be no inflight service.  After my first flight I learned of the Southwest Flight Attendant who had her teeth knocked out by a passenger, and the other recent issues with abusive passengers.  I guess that explains it.  

***

Race morning dawned as forecast - cool and overcast.  At 7:05 I left my hotel so that I could be on the first bus to the start, leaving at 7:15 (which turned out to be 7:25).  It was both very odd and very normal to be on a bus to a race start surrounded by fellow runners (this time masked) chatting about the current course and past races.  

Once again, I was on a bus with a confused driver, who made two wrong turns (but did execute an impressive three point turnaround in a tight residential neighborhood).  It reminded me that one of the secrets for a successful race morning is to ensure that at least one person on your bus is local and knows where the start is.  (How you actually accomplish that is beyond me - consider this an aspirational goal).

Once there, I used the portajohns and then headed out to warm up.  The best (and really only option) to warm-up was on the half-mile of the course on the road.  Unfortunately, the road would not be closed to traffic until the start of the race, which meant that I and others were sharing the road with various trucks and cars.  

To be honest, I found it nervewracking, and had to pause my warm-up a few times to step off of the road until a car/truck had passed by.  Granted, most of this is my own emotional baggage and I'm guessing the other runners didn't find this situation as stressful.  At the same time, I think this race would benefit from closing off this section of the road (or at least coning half of it off) about an hour before the race, so that there would be some place for runners to warm-up without dodging trucks and cars adhering to a 35 MPH speed limit.

Unfortunately, during the warm-up it also started to drizzle - the forecast had been for the rain to hold off until around 11 or so, but oh well.  Fortunately it was very light - just enough to wet the roads and make me wish I had worn a hat.  (had I worn a hat, I'm sure it wouldn't have rained).

My Running Ahead forums friend Jon was also running this race, and he and I managed to meet up before the start, which was great.    We chatted as we waited for the start of the race, which would be done with the now-almost-normal staggered start.  There were several lines of 8 dots before the start line - when you were ready to start, you'd step onto one of the 8 dots furthest from the start to join that line.  Then, as each row of 8 runners started the race, the runners behind would advance one row closer to the start.  There was a 10 second interval between starts, with a 5 second countdown before each (which must have been tiring for the announcer, but was nice for us).  So...."5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go"  then the rows behind would advance and the cycle would repeat.  About 9:01 am Jon and I started.  We wore masks until we crossed the line, and pulled them as we began the race.

***

The race started in the parking lot of historic Mabee Farm, before exiting onto State Road 5S.  We'd run north on that road for about 2/3 of a mile before making a left onto a side road and then a left again onto the multiuse paved trail that would be most of the course.  The parking lot of Mabee farm was slick with the rain, making for a slippery start, but fortunately that was only about 10 seconds of running, and then we were on the road with much better traction. 

From a social distancing perspective, this set-up worked great - even though they were only starting 8 people at a time, people were still close enough at the start that the trail would have been a bit crowded.  However, 2/3s of a mile was enough distance for people to sort themselves out into smaller packs that worked well when we entered the trail.  

We hit our first bit of rough pavement when we made the left turn on to the side road and then the side road was broken up in spots - I struggled some navigating both of these areas, but was able to pick up speed again once on the trail.  From there, it was mostly smooth sailing.  There were a few rough patches where I'd have to slow up, but most of the trail was conducive to a nice steady hard rhythm.  

Example of a rough patch. I struggled a bit here. 
I'm guessing most people were fine.

There was also a short section where the marathoners and the 10 mile course intersected with the marathoners running in the opposite direction and crossing paths with us.  However, the marathoners were very few and spread out, and this ended up being less of an issue than having an oncoming runner approach during a normal tempo on a bike path.

For the first 6 miles I had groups to chase down, but then there was nothing but open trail ahead of me (and one other runner behind me).  By this time we were facing a mild headwind, and so I encouraged him to share the work with me.  I had to do it a few times, but finally he caught on and pulled up ahead so I could tuck in for a mile before he slowed and I took the lead again.

Mile 8 had the one notable climb of the race, which was notable because it was the only one - not because it was especially imposing, steep, long, or anything like that.  Also notable because it was about this time that the on-and-off light rain turned more steady.  At least I was almost done.

Soon after that, we were directed off of the trail and onto a set of sidewalks and streets, where I once again struggled with my balance - I let my impromptu running/racing partner pull ahead as I slowed to navigate this section, before catching up to him once we were on the paved trail again and then passing him on the final stretch past my hotel and to the finish.

***

After crossing the finish, I stopped my watch and checked the time - 66:57, which was about 30-60 seconds slower than I had expected to run.  Oh well - it had felt like a good effort and a well executed race, and both those were good things.  If you can just consistently execute a good race every time, you'll run fast when everything else falls into place (fitness, etc).  And I really wanted a good all-out run at 10-13 miles to give me a fitness boost, and I got that.

My splits ended up being:

• Mile 1: 6:52
• Mile 2: 6:52
• Mile 3: 6:40
• Mile 4: 6:37
• Mile 5: 6:38
• Mile 6: 6:32
• Mile 7: 6:36
• Mile 8: 6:40
• Miles 9-10: 13:28 (6:45)

Miles 1-2 and Miles 9-10 were my slowest, and also where I felt there was the most issue with uneven footing, turns, etc. So I guess that makes sense.  

If you're noting a tone of frustration, you would be correct.  My right ankle has improved dramatically since I got my PRP injections in it last fall, and my standing balance is immensely improved.  But I'm still struggling with things like tight turns onto bike trails or navigating uneven pavement or curbs when I run.  

I honestly haven't focused on this that much, since the ankle wasn't limiting me when I was doing fast running on well maintained pavement, and the fast running is what I most care about.  But this race really showed me that I'm not done rehabbing that ankle - I need to get it to the point where I can run confidently at speed on uneven pavement, rather than slowing down and picking my way through like grandma while others pull ahead.

Fortunately, my next race, Grandma's Marathon, should have consistently stable footing.  But I need to get this fixed.

(obligatory note - I haven't been ignoring the ankle altogether - I do 15+ minutes of ankle exercises daily - single legged balance on the floor and on a wobble board, plus sets of calf raises.  But I've gotten complacent in my ability to do these exercises well.  Clearly I need to revise this routine to get to the next level - I've got good stationary balance, but lousy dynamic balance.)

Other notes:

• The weather for this race ended up being 50 degrees, light to steady rain, and wind of 7 mph from the east (so a light headwind that we were mostly shielded from).
• I got to see Jon again at the finish and do a short and very soggy cooldown. It was great to finally meet him after so many years.
• I wore my Vaporflies for this race, with my ankles taped instead of using my braces.  This was because I've been planning to race in this combination.  I discovered during my first 20 miler that the ankle braces I normally wear for hard runs become too tight and painful during longer runs, due to foot swelling.  Hence my swap back to tape, since I can't really race the marathon in ankle braces.  But I don't think my current taping job is supporting the ankle enough - I need to do some work on that the next few weeks, and get some professional advice.
• I ended winning my age group.  Awards were given out based on chip time, but due to the staggered start, you couldn't grab your award until 30 minutes after your finish time (to ensure nobody starting behind you ran faster).  So I went back to my hotel, checked out, and then back to the finish line to pick up a nice water bottle that perfectly fit into my back pack.
• This was a really well managed race, and I recommend this race org (AREEP) to everyone.  I wouldn't hesitate to fly up again for another one of their races.
• I did successfully make my 11 am checkout post-race (and even managed to get a good shower in).
• Flying to and from Albany reminded me of how much I enjoy the actual flying aspect of airplane travel.  The acceleration of the takeoff, the sensations as the plane banks, the views of the clouds or ground, and the satisfaction of a solid touchdown.  I just loathe every other aspect of airplane travel (security, boarding, deplaning, reclining seats, navigating airport bathrooms).
  
  

Race Report: Broad Street 10 Miler, May 5, 2019

I ran the Broad Street 10 Miler today, finishing in a time of 62:28 by my watch - good enough for a new PR and 6th master female.

This is my 6th time running this race, so I know the course very well.  There's not much to know honestly - it's 10 miles in a straight line north to south, save for a quick swerve around City Hall just past the half mile mark.  The course is a slight net downhill that rolls a bit in the first 5 miles, and is mostly flat in the second 5.  It's a great course for my running style, since I like to ease into a pace and then lock on.  (of course, I don't know of many people that don't run well on courses with few turns and a net downhill).

After a slightly disappointing 63:01 at Cherry Blossom (that ended up not counting anyway), I was extremely motivated to come back to Broad Street and break 63 there.  And I had ambitions of even breaking 62:30, which was important to me because a) that's the time standard to qualify for my running team's elite development squad (which doesn't really change anything, but makes me happy) and b) earns me free entry as an elite to a local series of races.

The sticking point was going to be the weather.  As we approached race day, the forecasts got worse and worse.  There was a good chance of a tailwind, but.....it was going to rain during Broad Street.  And the forcecasts didn't describe it as "rain" but used terms like "washout," "downpour," "deluge."
Lovely.

Since my addition of non-slip pads to the soles of my crushed vaporflies had worked so well at the BAA 5K, I decided to try that again here, on the newer pair of flyknit vaporflies I've been wearing for longer stuff this year.  Since I had read about the insole of the flyknit vaporfly slipping around when the shoe got soaked, I also bought some superglue.

Unfortunately, my attempt to reinforce the insole-shoe nexus on Saturday afternoon resulted in what shall be known as the Philadelphia superglue incident of 2019.  The tube of superglue exploded onto both my hands, creating a white crusty scaly mess.

Fortunately, there was a convenience store right next to my hotel, so I was able to purchase some nailpolish remover there along with a replacement tube of superglue (I don't give up easily).  I can only imagine what the cashier thought when I provided my credit card with hands that were clearly suffering from some awful, most likely contagious, skin disease.

But...she took my money.  And the superglue-on-hand removal plus shoe application, try-two was without further incident.

***

When I woke on race morning, the first thing I checked was my hotel window.  Hm....not too bad.  And then I checked the tv news.  That was....less good.

Yup, this was going to be a soggy one.

Fortified by the lessons of Boston 2018 (and the comfort that this would be NOTHING LIKE THAT, just sub-optimal), I donned my sportsbra and shorts (not sure if you can don a sportsbra, but if you can, then I did).  Then a longsleeve t-shirt and poncho on top of that, water-proof shoe covers over my shoes, my trusty racing hat, and latex gloves on my hands.  With that, I grabbed my bag of dry post-race clothes and headed for the train.

Having done this race several times, I've learned that the SEPTA train is the best way to get to the start from Center City, where my hotel is.  But...there are two tricks.  First - leave early, since the trains get packed, and if you leave too late, you may not be able to board one (I left my hotel at 6:07 am, and it was exactly the right time).  Second, if you have a choice of two stations, board at the station earlier on the line, even if it means a further walk.   This is for the same reason - you want to be able to actually get on the train, rather than be shut out again and again.

I managed to squeeze onto the first train that came by, and from there it was a quick 20 minute trip to the start area.

***

I was an elite this year, which had some really nice perks.  The biggest was a bus that I was allowed to board and hang out on until I was ready to warm-up.  Instead of doing bag check, I left my bag on the bus - the race would transport it down for me and I'd be able to pick it up in the elite tent at the finish.  We also had our own set of private portajohns - a real luxury.

I hung out on the bus until around 7 am, and then headed out to warm-up.  I did 3 miles, including some 1-2 minute segments of harder running uphill to get my heart-rate up.  Then drills, strides, and more strides until it was time to load into the elite corral with 10 minutes to go.

 I had removed the shoe covers before starting my warm-up; the poncho and long-sleeve came off with 2 minutes until the gun.   My carefully applied non-slip pads were also peeling off from my shoe soles, so after a moment's thought, I peeled them off.  We'd just go without.

It was raining, but it was a moderate, steady rain, and not the dire downpour that had been predicted.  Not ideal, but far better than feared.  And honestly probably better than if it had been clear skies and humid.

Conscious of the fact that I was a contender for masters prize money (given by gun time) I lined up on the second row behind the line.  As always, I situated myself to the far right, since younger men much faster than me would be starting behind me, and them trampling me would not be good for either of our races.

***

With a bit less fanfare than I was expecting, we heard "on your mark" and we were off.    I had seen my friend Mike in the corral just behind me, and so it was a pleasant non-surprise when he pulled up next to me.  My plan was to go out conservative for the first mile (which everyone else hammers, since it's downhill) and then ease into pace.  Once I found that hard pace, I'd just hold that rhythm until I got within kicking distance.

Fortunately, Mike and I had similar plans, and so we ended up running close to each other for much of the race.  I can't say that we were side by side - I was maintaining what felt like my best steady effort, which meant slowing down slightly on inclines (can't really call them hills) or whenever we had some gusts of headwind, and rolling a bit more on declines and when the winds eased.  But we were pretty much in yo-yo-ing contact for the entire race.

I essentially paced this the same as Cherry Blossom, which means that there's not really much to note about the middle miles.  I had locked into that 10-mile pace feel, which seems very much like a red line that I can bump up against.  Since this is a very fast course and the cooling rain limited concerns about overheating, I was aggressive.  Not suicidal, but I wanted to be riding my edge, rather than safely below it.  Like always, I was ignoring my watch and splits, and just running off of effort and feel.

By mile 7, things were starting to get hard, and by mile 8 things were very hard indeed.  And mile 9 was AWFUL.  I was reeling in people , and that made life slightly more tolerable, though I still had to dig deep into my bag of mental tricks (focus on your rhythm, focus on your glutes, stay relaxed and SMILE) to hang on.  Finally, I saw the Navy Yard gate that marked 400m to go ahead of us, and I hit the red button to dump out whatever I had left.

[It's probably worth noting again that the fact I had a kick doesn't necessarily mean I could have run the middle miles any faster. Basically, I have an edge of effort that I can only step above for a few minutes.  When I finally do nudge above that, I can go pretty darn fast, but regardless of how fast I go, I can only step above that edge for a fairly short period of time before I crater.  Thus, I need to be strategic about what pace I hold in the late miles, and when I can finally go.  Though I keep thinking that perhaps getting better at racing 5Ks may increase how long I can hold that late race speed.]

My friend Brenda was in the distance, and I was reeling her in.  However, I wasn't quite able to make up the distance, and finished a few seconds behind.  Ah well.  I had raced well and left it all out there, and any day I do that is a good day.   As I had crossed, I saw the clock counting down 62:2x, so I knew I had set a big PR and broken that magical 62:30 barrier.

***

Immediately after finishing, Brenda and I were intercepted by the elite coordinator and told we were fourth and fifth masters.  This meant that we were assigned an escort who would lead us to the VIP tent and then to the awards.  So that was a lot of fun.

It became a bit less fun when about 10 minutes later they realized that they had missed one masters female finisher.  Thus, Brenda was now 5th master, and I was 6th (and no longer a money-winner, and no longer a VIP).  I was disappointed.  Really disappointed.  But....I had run well and wouldn't change anything about how I ran the race today.  There were just 5 masters women faster than me today, and it was what it was.  Plus, the satisfaction of breaking 62:30 was better than a 5th place masters award today (though I might have felt differently if it was top master).

Splits were:

Mile 1: 6:26
Mile 2: 6:20
Mile 3: 6:14
Mile 4: 6:14
Mile 5: 6:08 (slightly short/hit watch early)
Mile 6: 6:21 (slightly long)
Mile 7: 6:12
Mile 8: 6:14
Mile 9: 6:14
Mile 10: 6:06

Other notes:

• The weather ended up being mid-50s, with steady rain and a crosswind (the promised tailwind failed to manifest).  Not ideal conditions, but nowhere near as bad as forecast.
• Two days before Cherry Blossom, I did an uptempo 1600 in 6:16 (so 6:18 pace), and then raced Cherry Blossom at 6:19 pace.  This Friday, I did an uptempo 1600 in 6:09 (so 6:12 pace), and then raced Broad Street in 6:15 pace.  Before my next 10 miler, I'm going to do a 1600m all out time trial...
• My Garmin measured today's course as 10.03 miles (it had measured the infamously short Cherry Blossom 10 Miler as 10.04).  If they announce Broad Street was short, I'm gonna.....find another 10 miler to run, I guess.
• On that subject, the next time I hear someone talking about Garmins measuring long because of tangents (or claiming a race performance based on a Garmin measurement), I'm going to show them this image.

  

  My post-race cooldown shuffle through the buildings of Philly.

Race Report: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, April 7, 2019

I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, finishing in a time of 63:01.  Which was a big PR, and both a worse and better time than the 1:03:00 that I originally read on my watch (you know what I mean).

[edit: not a PR - course was short]

It's been a few years since I've been able to run this race, which has been a shame - this is always a great race - fast course, fast crowd, well organized, almost always great weather.  So I was really excited to be able to target it this year.  And once again, the course, crowd, organization, and weather did not disappoint.

***

I've done this race enough times to have the routine down - leave EARLY to snag my supersecret parking space less than half a mile from the start/finish.  So I left my house a bit before 6 am, picked up my teammate/friend Lindsay on the way, and then was in my spot by 6:10 am - which gave us 20 minutes to hang out in my warm car before stepping out at 6:30 am.

We walked over to the bag check, dropped off our stuff, and then I headed out for my warm-up - about 2-3 miles of easy running intermixed with some hard surges of 45-60 seconds at faster than race pace to get my heart rate up.  Then drills, strides, and jumped into my corral.   I was a seeded runner, which meant that I could line up pretty close to the front, but I placed myself a bit further back, near my teammates Juan, Chris, Jason, and Weston.  I like starting slow, and since chip time was the only time that mattered (no masters prize money, and I had no shot of finishing in the top 25) there was no reason to move further up.

We chatted for a few minutes, and I took two puffs of my rescue inhaler (the pollen was ridiculously thick) and then tossed my throwaway shirt and gloves.  Then the horn went, and we were off.

***

Chris, Weston, and I formed a pack and started working through the crowds, which were thicker than I had anticipated.  It was frustrating - I had planned on starting slow, but not that slow.  But nothing to do except stay patient and wait it out.

It took a full mile and a half before I felt free and clear, but from then on it was smooth.  This is a very flat course, with only some mild undulations.  I'm a rhythm runner, so I thrive on courses like this - they remind me of my horse-showing days, if that makes sense.

(Jumping horses is all about finding a rhythm, and then holding it - numerous riders will try to get a song stuck in their head with the right rhythm, because then the jumps will just naturally flow out of that rhythm.  I do something similar for races - get a song with the right rhythm stuck in my head.  For 10 mile races, I've found that Daft Punk's Get Lucky or VNV Nation's When is the Future work best.  I do a faster rhythm for shorter races, and more measured rhythms for longer races.)

(This is, not coincidentally, also the rhythm I lock into for 3200m repeats during workouts.  But I really really try not to think about it that way, since that starts a cycle of OMG I usually hold this for 2 miles and now I have to hold it for 10?)

So, I found that rhythm, and held it.  Weston and Chris stuck with me as I held the rhythm, with about 90% of my focus on the beat and the other 10% on holding the tangents and not cutting off or running into others.  As we rolled, packs kept coming back to us or joining us, and we rocked on.   At points along the way, my teammates David, and then Carolyn and Cate also were with us - like a big Katamari Damacy ball of red singlets.

Weston, David, and myself.
Not sure where Chris is.
Photo by Will Ellison

I sometimes have a bit of trouble running in groups - it's partially a touch of lingering claustrophobia from my previous sport (you try to never let horses get too close to each other in the ring) and partially that I start feeling like I'm responsible for others' pacing.  But I managed it pretty well today.

The miles rolled on, the only distraction being my throat getting ever so slightly tight at times - a bit of vocal chord irritation/dysfunction from the super high pollen levels.  But it didn't really affect my race any, other than making it about impossible to cheer for my teammates when I saw them.

Finally, we hit mile 9, and I knew that the one significant hill of the course was coming up, just before the finish.  I know this course, and I know that when I hit that hill I just need to hammer and empty the tank and then let gravity on the back side of the hill carry me to the finish.  So I hammered, but I think I may have overdone it, as I tied up a bit on the back side (frustrating).

As I crossed the finish line, I saw it ticking over to 1:03:11 - I knew I had started a bit after the gun, and I hoped it was 12 seconds worth.  I crossed, caught my breath, and checked my watch - 1:03:00.  I really really hoped I had started my watch early.

But....I hadn't.  Official time was 1:03:01.  Annoying as heck, though I guess I can't get too upset over a 54 second PR.

Splits were:
Mile 1: 6:25
Mile 2: 6:20
Mile 3: 6:13
Mile 4: 6:19
Mile 5: 6:19
Mile 6: 6:19
Mile 7: 6:18
Mile 8: 6:19
Mile 9: 6:17
Mile 10: 6:01

I went with splits from Strava, since I missed some mile markers and at least two of the mile markers were off.  I really hope the 15K mat was accurate, as I'd like to claim a 15K PR from this race (58:57).

Now...one might think, looking at this, that I could have pushed a bit harder earlier in the course instead of saving so much for the end - that my fast finish shows inefficient pacing.  I don't think so, though.  I have a red line of effort that I can sit right below for a long time, but can only go above briefly.  I sat right on that line for 9 miles, and then bumped above it in mile 10 - arguably I jumped up a bit too soon, which is why I tied up at the end.  Had I run those middle miles even a touch faster, I would have crashed before the end.

I am bummed about the 2 seconds, and also bummed about the fact that I was fourth in my age group, and only a sparse few seconds behind the 2nd and 3rd in my age group.  But....them's the breaks, and I've certainly had it go the other way in my favor quite a few times.

I have the Broad Street 10 Miler next month, so hopefully I can carve off 2 more seconds there.

Other notes:

• The weather was really just great - low 50s, overcast, minimal wind - it doesn't get much better than that for a 10 mile race.  The tree pollen was really my only complaint, and I guess that comes with the territory when you run a race that is literally named after pollinating trees.
• The one real organizational bloop this year was bag check.  They changed it, and did the same stupid thing Boston did last year, where they assign trucks by bib number, and assign bib numbers loosely based on projected finishing time.  Which means that everyone's hitting the same bag check table at the same time, while staff from other tables look on.  Just stupid.  Hopefully they'll fix this for next year.
• As always, I ran this race watchless.  I can see how one might wonder - if I had been looking at my watch, could I have found 2 seconds.  Honestly, no.  I left it all out there, and couldn't have dug any deeper at the end.  I think I lost those two seconds from the congestion in the first miles, or from tying up a bit at the top of the hill.  Looking at my watch wouldn't have helped with either.
• On Friday, I did my "uptempo" pre-race mile on the track - a 1600m at 10 mile race effort in 6:16, which equates to 6:18-19 pace (add 2-3 seconds to convert the 1600 to a full mile).  Today I ran a 10 mile race in 6:18 pace.  Heh.
• My next race is in 6 days - the BAA 5K in Boston (where the current forecast is NOT optimal for a 5K, alas).  A few years ago I did the Shamrock Half-Marathon and then the Monument Avenue 10K six days later, and both went well.  Of course, that was when I was 40.  Now I'm about to turn 45, and my recovery has slowed slightly.  On the other hand, a 10 miler is much easier to bounce back from than a half-marathon, so we shall see.
• 11 years ago, I ran my first Cherry Blossom in 1:13:22, and was thrilled with it.  This year I ran more than 10 minutes faster, and am a mixture of happy and annoyed.  Just some perspective for myself.

Race report: Army 10 Miler, October 7, 2018

I ran the Army 10 Miler this morning, finishing in a time of 66:02.

I'm pretty happy with this.  The time is obviously well off of my PR, but that PR was set in considerably better weather.  Given today's weather (72 degrees with a dew point of 70), the poor air quality, and where I am in my training cycle (early and building) I'm more than satisfied.

***

Race morning dawned early.  I've done this race enough times to know that you have to allow plenty of time to get to the race, get through security, etc.  So...I showed up at my teammate Lindsay's home at 6 am to hitch a ride to a race that was approximately five miles away, with an 8 am start time.

Reading the above, it sound like we left way too early.  Nope.  We left at the perfect time, and had we left even 5-10 minutes later, I think we would have been rushed for time.

The start area of Army 10 Miler is a labyrinth constructed of metal gates and concrete blocks, due to the heavy security associated with any race staged in the shadow of the Pentagon.  After a lot of walking, we dropped off our bags and found our way to the start line and the warm-up area.  I warmed up with 2 miles of jogging and then two harder segments of 40-60 seconds - for each segment I ran hard until my heart rate monitor showed I was in the mid-170s - where I'd also be for the first miles of the race.  Then a bit more jogging to the start, and a few more sips of water plus some drills and strides.

Then into the corral, and wait for the cannon.

***

As I've noted before, I've run this race several times, and I know that people often go out way too fast.   Thus, my plan was to stay conservative for the first 2 miles, up to Rosslyn, and then start to pick it up if I felt good.

As often happens during these very humid summer races (and I guess October is now summer) I found myself re-evaluating my plan as the race progressed.

Basically, I run 10 milers and half-marathons by staying under my red line until a certain point, and then hammering.  But.. where that red line is, and when in the race I can safely hop above it, depends on the weather.  Push too soon, and it's a recipe for disaster - especially on days where it's humid and the air quality is less than ideal.  (I have a lot more room for error on cold days).


With today's weather, I found myself continually pushing back the "pick-it up point" from mile 2 to mile 3 to mile 5 to....what the heck, this is good enough.  I was working - what I consider a "hard cruise" but not straining.  Basically a solid hard tempo effort (tempo being defined as the pace you can hold for an hour or a bit longer - which is roughly 10 mile pace).  And I could tell that if I pushed it even a little bit harder, I'd be taking a big risk.  Possibly worth it if this was a PR-attempt-every-second-counts-goal-race, but it wasn't.  And while blowing up in a race is never fun, it could also set back my marathon training significantly.  Better to stay a bit cautious and then try to hammer at the very end.

So that's what I did.  Even running defensively, things still got hard on the rolling hills that are the 14th Street Bridge.  (note to future self - there are 4 hills on the 14th Street bridge).  A head wind there didn't help either, though as someone later noted, it's always windy on the 14th Street bridge.

And then we turned the corner and hit mile marker 9, and I grudgingly finally started emptying the tank.   The finish line itself snuck up on me - I didn't see it until about 150m to go.  Next time I do this race, I need to map it out and see where 800m from the finish is, so I can use that to time my final kick.

As I approached the clock, I saw it ticking over 66, and so I tried to run just a bit faster, but I had nothing.  And then I was gloriously done (though wishing I had been a few seconds faster).

***

Splits were:
Mile 1: 6:41
Mile 2: 6:40
Mile 3: 6:37
Mile 4: 6:24
Mile 5: 6:34
Mile 6: 6:47
Mile 7: 6:37
Mile 8: 6:46
Mile 9: 6:36
Mile 10: 6:18

So... a slight positive split (32:57/33:04), despite it feeling like an evenly paced effort with a hammered last mile.  I don't think I went out too fast; rather this is just a reflection of the course - the 14th Street bridge makes the second half a bit slower than the first half.

Other notes:

• I ran the whole race with a handheld water bottle.  Did I look silly?  Maybe - but I'd rather be silly and hydrated when the dew point is 70.
  
• I also wore my arm-coolers.  Again, I looked a bit silly - "are you really wearing arm-warmers?"  But though they look silly, they really do seem to help some, chilling my body temperature just slightly.  Every bit helps.
  
• This was a new course, and I think it was actually an improvement over the older course, and slightly faster.  The course was rerouted this year only because of construction on the Memorial Bridge (where the old course ran), but my preference would be to stick with this new course.
  
• I have a history of getting massive lower leg cramps a few minutes after crossing the finish line in long, humid races.  I'm fairly sure it's electrolyte loss - more specifically salt - combined with the blood pooling in my legs after I stop running.  (and yes, I consume a LOT of salt and salty fluids pre-race).   It happened at Grandma's Half in both 2016 and 2017, and it happened after this race also.  
  
  However, they usually both cramp simultaneously. This time, my two legs cramped at separate times, with the left going first in the post-race area.  This was problematic, because it's much easier to walk and function with two cramping legs than one, believe it or not.  I ended up hitching a ride in a medic cart out of the finish area, not because I was in any serious trouble, but because I didn't want to block the finish area while I waited out the cramps.  Fortunately, it only took 2 minutes and a lemonade GU for the left leg to relax.  And then the right calf grabbed up, and then relaxed, and then I was fine.  Jogged a cool-down with no issues or discomfort.
  
• Breathing was OK but not great here, which is another reason I was really happy with this race.  Humidity combined with a never-ending ragweed season and some mold is a bad trifecta for me, even with all the anti-histamines and asthma drugs I'm on.  I took two puffs of the rescue inhaler pre-race, and also (as I noted above) was careful to stay just below my redline.  When we have this type of weather, I cannot take any risks or make any mistakes, and I didn't today.  But I can't wait to see what I can run in better weather, given how today went.
  
• I'm feeling really good about my CIM cycle - I'm running decently well, and much better than I was a month ago, but I'm also not peaking yet.  This is perfect for 8 weeks out.  And a 10 mile race is a great lactate threshold workout - perfect for this point in my marathon training.
  
• Ended up 3rd master, beaten by two very accomplished runners.  I'll take it.