Race report: Loudoun Street Mile, May 27, 2013.

I ran the Loudoun Street Mile today, finishing in a time of 5:29.44 by my watch; 5:30 gun.  If you count the 5:29, then it's an overall PR (the 5:30 is a road mile PR).  Either way, I'm pretty happy.

Really not too much to write about such a short day.  Drove out there, jogged a warm-up, did some drills, and then lined up, seeding myself in the third row back.  In retrospect, I guess I should have seeded myself right at the front - it's just that I tend to be a bit slow the first few steps off of the line, and I feel like I create a hazard if I start right in the front.  But next year, I'll have to overcome that reluctance.

And then it started, and we were off.  The race has several up hills and downhills - I had mentioned to people before the race that it worked well to go out a bit conservatively, and then really start kicking it after the peak of the hill at the halfway point, using the downhill on the back side to pick off those who had fried themselves by going out too fast.

Sometimes, I'm not the best at following my own race plan.

I think it was a combination of feeling good this morning and being a bit angry about the fact that I never got into gear in my race last week, but I went out hard.  They called out "1:18" as I passed the quarter mile mark, which meant I actually ran 1:17.  Whoops.  I had just tied my 400m PR (granted, it was mostly downhill).

And yup, just like I warned others,  my legs started to burn like heck about halfway up the hill.  Ugh.  I wanted to hurt in this race, but it probably wasn't optimal to be hurting this much this soon, with about 1000m still to go.

But oh well.  Y'know what - I run 10 milers and half marathons and marathons, closing them hard.  There was absolutely no way in hell I couldn't hold it together for another few minutes.  Heck, I had less than a mile to go.  That's nothing. 

And so that's what I did.  Not fun, but that's racing the mile.  And I pulled it off mostly.   I say mostly because I did stiffen up a bit at the end.  I don't think it was lactic acid, but rather a return to a bad mental habit of staring at the finish line and thinking "give it everything you got."  Which sounds nice in theory, but means in practice that I tense up my whole body, crank my head up and back, and try to increase my turnover, which shortens my stride immensely.

I know how to work around this - don't stare at the finish line, think cruise and relax, and just let myself glide in.  I've almost mastered this.  But not completely.  In long races, it's easier to be patient at the end - the last 200-400m is such a short part of the race.  But in such a short race, especially when I knew I was running a fast time, the urge to chase down the finish was too hard to resist.  So that's my homework for next time.  Good news is, I don't think this cost me more than a second, and also didn't cost me any placings.  Just something to work on next time.

Announced splits were 1:18, 2:40 for the 800m, and then no 1200m split (take 1 second off of each of those.  So I positive split the race, which ain't great.  But, I'll just be a bit more patient and relaxed the next race, and see what that gets me.  The fact that I ran such a fast first 400, and still managed to run a decent race without completely dying, tells me that I've got a much faster mile in me.

Other notes:

• Weather was awesome - lower 60s and low humidity.
• The drive took about 80 minutes (66 to 50 to 17).  Not bad.
• Low HR conundrum continues.  My HR maxed out at 172 for this race - lower than my average HR for a tempo run.  My max HR for my mile PR is lower than my max HR for my marathon. Just weird.  Not gonna worry about it - this is apparently just how I am.  But it is a bit odd.

Training log - week ending May 26, 2013

This week was 53.5 miles of “real running” plus 12 “miles” pool running and 2000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.  

Week 2 of project speed development.  Trying to add in 200m repeats as appropriate, plus doing drills every day I run.   I've also added in box jumps to my gym workout in an attempt to build some power.  Right now my standing jump is frankly pathetic, but even in the past week I've seen improvement in my strides and drills.  I skipped my long run on Sunday since I race another mile on Monday - we'll see how that goes.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 60 minutes of easy pool-running for “6 miles," followed by injury prevention work and upper body strength training.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 12 miles, including an interval workout of 1600, 2x(800, 2x400), 2x200. I ran 5:54, 2:51, 82, 82, 2:50, 81, 80 and then 38 and 38 (half distance recovery between most; full recovery between the 200s).  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes of shakeout pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 9.5 miles easy (8:17 pace), followed by yoga.   Later did another 5.5 miles (8:18 pace).  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 1000 yards of swimming breathing drills and 20 minutes of easy pool-running for “2 miles," plus upper body strengthwork and injury prevention work.  3.5 miles very easy (8:42) plus drills and foam rolling at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 12 miles, including an abbreviated tempo workout of 3200, 1600, split as 13:00 6:35/6:25) and then 6:02.  Followed with 20 minutes shakeout poolrunning.   Foam rolling and some injury prevention work at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 10.5 miles very easy (8:16) plus drills; foam rolling at night.

Sunday:  1000 yards of swimming breathing drills plus foam-rolling.

Training log - Week ending 5/19/13

This week was 54 miles of “real running” plus 16 “miles” pool running and 1250 yards of swimming -- training log is here.  

And, project speed development is underway.  Basically, my natural tendency is to be an efficient shuffler.  Works great for covering ground, but also means that I'm not very explosive.  Combine that with two marathon training cycles, and....I'm a bit slower than I was last year at this time.  So my project for the next few months is to get that speed back.  Which means drills and strides, drills and strides, plus 200m repeats and a lot of mile races.  I ran my first mile race of the season this past Sunday, clocking 5:44.  The race was a lot of fun, and gave me a baseline.  But I've got a lot of work to do.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 50 minutes of easy pool-running for “5 miles," followed by injury prevention work and upper body strength training.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 13 miles, including an interval workout of 4x800, 4x400, 2x200 (ran 2:55, 2:54, 2:53, 2:52, 84, 84, 82, 81, and then 37 and 37).  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes of shakeout pool-running.  Foamrolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 9.5 miles easy (8:26 pace), followed by yoga.   Later did another 5 miles (8:23 pace).  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 55 minutes of easy pool-running for “5 miles," followed 650 yards of swimming breathing drills and some injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 9 miles, including an abbreviated tempo workout of 3200 (12:37).  Followed with 20 minutes shakeout poolrunning. Foam rolling and some injury prevention work at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 3.5 miles very easy (8:51 - cheering at a race); 600 yards of swimming breathing drills and foam rolling in the afternoon..

Sunday:   In the morning, a 3 mile warm-up and then a mile track race (5:44); later did 10 miles easy plus 15 minutes shake out pool-running.  Yoga and foam-rolling in the afternoon.

Race report: PVTC Track Mile, May 19, 2013

I ran the mile at the PVTC track meet this morning, finishing in 5:44.  It's fair bit off of my PR, but that's fine - I'm still early in the process of trying to redevelop my speed.  Today was realistically not going to be a PR attempt, but rather just getting used to racing such a short distance again.

The PVTC races used to be held at a track in Falls Church, Virginia; but moved this year to a track in Alexandria (Edison HS).    When I arrived at the race, the first thing I did (after registering) was to check out the track.  It was interesting - something as standardized as a track can still come in many different shapes.  In this case, the Edison HS track is elongated and narrow - the turns are somewhat tight, and the straightaways quite long - well over 100m.  Interesting.

So, jogged around the track, did drills and strides, chatted with friends, and then gathered with others in the infield before the race start to be divided into heats.  There was some discussion about how to divide the heats, with the end conclusion being that the first heat would be 5:30 or faster, the second heat 5:30-6, and then the balance of runners in the third heat.  Last year, I would have gone with the 5:30 or faster heat, but this year I was pretty sure that 5:30-6:00 was where I belonged.  Plus, there were three other girls (My teammate Jessica, blogging friend Vanessa, and "Liz" - whom I knew from this race two years back) who would be in that heat, so I knew that I'd have other people in my approximate range.

At the start
(Picture by my friend Janet - and yes, that's a large heat)

Of course, the 5:30-6:00 heat was a big one - approximately 20 runners.  At the start line, I placed myself on the outside - figuring I'd start a bit slow and stay wide to avoid what would be a large group of kids (and 40 year old kids at heart) who would start very fast and then fade badly between 300-600m.

Another Janet picture - me rabbiting in the middle of the race.

And that was pretty much what happened.  The first 400 m (and definitely the first 200) we just a free for all - I ran wide to the outside and just tried to stay out of trouble.  But then the crowds dwindled a bit, and I was able to start picking my way though (though not without a bit of dodging).

I had commented before the race's start that I'd probably end up rabbiting Jessica, Vanessa, and Liz for a bit, and that was what happened for the next lap or two - I could hear Jessica breathing behind me, and could also sense, in that weird runner's way, that I had a few more behind me.  I kept my rhythm and focused on sustaining a hard (but not straining) effort, dropping it down a bit more with each lap.

One of the things I've been told is that I need to work on having more knee lift and explosiveness in these shorter races.  When I try to run fast, I often just increase my turnover, while leaning back and shuffling.  Not conducive to true speed.  So, for the last 400m, I tried not only to up the effort, but also to lift my knees more, pump my arms hard, and use a long powerful stride - using the same form tenets I am hopefully developing doing drills.

Home stretch - my knees are up a bit, right?

I did end up closing fairly strong, in terms of how I finished next to other competitors.    But I felt like I had a lot more speed that I couldn't quite access.  I would have LOVED LOVED LOVED to run that last lap faster and hurt more.  But I had the equivalent of a full fuel tank but a narrow fuel line. When I finished, I wasn't breathing that hard and could have run another mile with about 5 minutes rest.  But I didn't have a higher gear during the race.  But my sense is that I just need to do more of these, and that experience combined with many drills, strides, and interval workouts focused on speed, will help me cut a great deal of time from my mile this summer.

Splits ended up being 88, 87, 85, 84.   No, I didn't take manual splits.  Instead, I set my Garmin to autolap from the start.  The Garmin isn't that accurate, and seemed to take the split at some point after I passed the start point.  So what I have is four splits of a bit over 400m each.  But still good enough to give me some basic info.


Other notes:

• Weather was pretty sticky - temp 63, dew point 62, and light rain at times (but not during race).  Great thing about these mile races is that humidity is generally not a factor, though.
• The track was definitely wet.  I own a pair of spikes but have never raced in them - part of me wonders if I shouldn't wear them next time we've got wet conditions - at times I felt that I was slipping a bit on the track.  On the other hand, this is not my focus distance, and the last thing I want to do is to get myself injured.  And spikes do increase the injury risk.
• Weird HR conundrum continues.  Here's the geeky overanalysis:  Basically, I can NOT get my HR up in a mile race.  For this race, my HR maxed at 173.  By contrast, my HR average for the Broad Street 10 Miler was 172, and my max HR for that race was 183.  My maximum HR in my marathon was higher than what I see in mile races.  It's always been this way, it's weird, and I think explains why these mile races don't hurt that much - I just don't seem to accelerate fast enough to push my HR up in such a short period of time.  It's not that I don't want to hurt (if it was, I wouldn't be hitting those higher heart rates during longer races).  I just don't have the mechanics down to the point where I'm able to achieve that level of exertion over such a short period of time.  Again, homework.

Training log - Week ending May 12, 2013

This week was 62.5 miles of “real running” plus 10 “miles” pool running -- training log is here.  

Just a training week.  I was sick on Monday, so I took the day off.  The day off seemed to help, as I was feeling mostly better by Tuesday.  But bits of my bug lingered for the rest of the week, making me a bit sluggish.  I'll take part of the blame - I inadvertently ran a LOT more than I meant to on Tuesday (in my defense, I only doubled because my coach couldn't make the Tuesday night workout, so I showed up to help time/cheer, and ran an unplanned 5 miles in the process).  Not smart.  But doesn't seem to have done too much damage.

I also gave my bug to my boyfriend.  I'm nothing if not generous.  Sharing is caring.

Dailies

Monday:   Off.  Sick.  Did a bit of foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 9 miles easy (8:12), plus a bit of light weight training (mostly injury prevention work).  In the evening, an "accidental" 5 miles (8:31).  Also foamrolled mid day.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 7.5 miles easy (8:17 pace), followed by yoga.   Later did another 5 miles (8:02 pace).  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 50 minutes of easy pool-running for “5 miles," followed by injury prevention work and upper body strength training.  Foam rolling at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 11.5 miles, including a workout of 3200, 1600 in 13:33 (6:19/6:14) and 5:53.  Followed with injury prevention work and 30 minutes shakeout poolrunning. Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 10 miles easy (8:20); upper body strengthwork, injury prevention work, and foam rolling in the afternoon..

Sunday:   In the morning, 14 miles as a progression, split as  first 4 miles at 8:36, next 6.5 at 7:43, last 3.5 at 6:41 (more like 1.5 miles at 6:50 and two at 6:34).  Followed up with injury prevention work and 20 minutes shake out pool-running.  Yoga and foam-rolling in the afternoon.

Training log - Week ending May 5, 2013

This week was 41 miles of “real running” plus 12 “miles” pool running and 2000 yards swimming -- training log is here.  


Was feeling really good at the beginning of the week, with hopes for an awesome 10 mile race this weekend.  Tapered for the race the same way I had for my PR 10 mile and half races, felt good, and...not the race I wanted or expected.  I'm disappointed, but my time will come.

Woke up on Monday morning (today) exhausted with chills, headache, scratchy throat, and aching upper body.  Plus a resting HR that's way high.  Maybe connected to yesterday's dissappointment, or maybe not - I'll never know for sure.

If you want to find me today, I'll be on the couch, sucking on zinc lozenges.

[edit: hahahaha - I just realized I posted this referring to a "crack workout" on Tuesday - yup, I'm sick.  I'm gonna leave that there - just for kicks]

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 80 minutes of easy pool-running for “8 miles” followed by injury prevention work and some strength training.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  11.5 miles, including a crack workout of 1600, 4x800, and 2x200.  Splits were 5:55, 2:51, 2:50, 2:50, 2:49, and then 36 and 26.  Followed with 20 minutes shakeout pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 8 miles easy (8:17 pace), followed by yoga.   Later did another 3 miles (8:01 pace).  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 40 minutes of easy pool-running for “4 miles" plus 1000 yards of swimming breathing drills.  Got a massage that afternoon.

Friday:  In the morning, 5.5 miles, including a mile pick-up (1600m in 6:13).  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 1000 yards of swimming breathing drills; foam rolling at night.

Sunday:   In the morning, 2.5 mile warm-up jog and then 10 mile race in 65:59.   20 minutes shake out pool-running and foam-rolling in the afternoon.

Race report: Broad Street 10 Miler, May 5, 2013

I ran the Broad Street 10 Miler this morning, finishing in a time of 55:59 according to the official race results.  It wasn't the time I hoped to run today, but that's racing.

Broad Street is always a very fast course - point to point with essentially no turns, and net downhill.  In years past, it's always been just a bit too warm and sticky for my tastes - not horrible, but not the type of weather I love.  But this year was different.  Starting temps in the upper 40s, and dry.  Woo.  I was excited.

And, my fitness felt like it had really been coming together the last week or so.  I figured this was as good a chance as any to run a good 10 mile time, so I made sure to focus on rest in the week before - both quality sleep and really backing off on physical activity.  Everything to set myself up for a good day.

But again, things don't always work out as you plan.  I felt good on the warm-up and confident and relaxed on the starting line.  But once the race started, I wasn't able to find a relaxed groove.  I just felt stiff and my stride felt off, and by mile 3 I was starting to hate life.  I spent the balance of the race working my tail off to stay relaxed and focused and positive (which I succeeded in). 

I sucked down a gel just after the third mile, hoping that would perk me up.  I'm not sure if it was the gel or something else, but I felt a bit better about a mile later.  But I just never felt great - always stuck in a lower gear.


Looking at my splits later, my first mile was a bit on the fast side (I usually pace my races with a very slow start).  But...the race also starts on a downhill, so this mile wasn't that bad.  And I still negative split the race (33:13/32:45), so it's not like I went out too fast and blew up. 

I think that it's as simple as this - we all have those wonderful days where your body feels like a fantastic machine working seamlessly, and the running seems effortless.  We also all have days that are the opposite, where you can't quite seem to shift into gear.  Sometimes the latter happens on race day.  And that's really frustrating (especially when you've tapered and gotten a hotel and driven up there, etc, etc).  But there's nothing to do except to run the best race you can that day.  Which I did.  I just wish my best race had been a bit better today.

Splits were:

Mile 1: 6:33
Mile 2: 6:36
Mile 3: 6:44
Mile 4: 6:44
Mile 5: 6:36
Mile 6: 6:42
Mile 7: 6:37
Mile 8: 6:27
Mile 9: 6:35
Mile 10: 6:24

Other notes:

• Weather was fantastic - temps in upper 40s to low 50s and dry.  Wind was gusting from different directions, but I think we had a tailwind for a good deal of it.
• Stayed at the Holiday Inn Stadium (somewhat near the finish line).  Though I normally wouldn't call a 1.5 mile walk "convenient", it was a lot easier to get back to the hotel then our experience in other years.  One downside was the lack of restaurants in the area.  We ended up eating at a South Philadelphia Chilis that served one of the worst steaks I think I've ever had.
• Trick to portapotties for this race - don't wait forever in line for one near the start; instead jog down the race course half a mile - quite a few on course with little lines.

Training log - Week ending 4/28/13

This week was 66 miles of “real running” plus 14 “miles” pool running and 1200 yards swimming -- training log is here.  


Another week of training in the books.  I'm feeling fitter every week, and that's pretty nice - it's always quicker and easier to come back to a certain level of running than it is to get there in the first place.  And the feeling good part is fun. 

I was entered in the Nike Women's Half Marathon in DC this weekend, but opted to skip - I couldn't race it because I'm planning on racing the Broad Street 10 Miler next weekend.  And running races easy really just isn't fun at all.  But that was OK - I ended up having a great long run instead.  And Broad Street will be really fun.

After Broad Street, I'm gonna switch gears and focus on short stuff for the summer.  Mile races, with a few 5Ks and maybe something in the 8-10K distance if the weather's reasonable.  I love love love the longer stuff, but I'm not doing myself any favors by cranking out high mileage all summer, as much as I would love to do so.  Just focus on quick short stuff for the spring/summer, then take another break, and then start building mileage again in the fall. 

In other news, Brian decided to pay tribute to my everygrowing ego with a custom built water bottle - forever documenting a silly post race pose.  She-Hulk - eat your heart out.

I loved this when he surprised me with it. 
And of course, I went to fill it up right away.
Only to be informed that it was for display, not for drinking. 
Silly me.  So now it's enshrined on my shelf.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 60 minutes of easy pool-running for “6 miles” followed by injury prevention work and some strength training.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  12.5 miles easy (7:59) plus drills and strides, followed by lower body injury prevention work; foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 9.5 miles easy (8:04 pace), followed by yoga.   Later did another 5.5 miles (7:54 pace).  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 40 minutes of easy pool-running for “4 miles" plus 1200 yards of swimming breathing drills, followed by injury prevention work and upperbody strength training   Foam-rolling at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 12.5 miles, including a workout of 3200m (12:32 - 6:16/6:16), 1600 (6:02), 800 (2:52) and then 2x200 (each in 38).  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes shakeout pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 12 miles easy (8:07 pace).  Foam-rolling, injury prevention work, and upperbody/core strengthtraining in the afternoon.

Sunday:   In the morning, 14 miles as a progressive run, split as first 3 at 8:34, next 4 at 7:52, next 3.5 at 7:33, next 2.5 at 7:00, last mile at 6:20. Overall pace 7:41.  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes shakeout pool-running. Yoga and foam-rolling in the afternoon.

Training log - Week ending 4/21/13

This week was 43 miles of “real running” plus 15 “miles” pool running and 2000 yards swimming -- training log is here.   

Interesting week.   I did my first interval workout back, and it went fairly well.  A bit slower than my norm, but that's obviously not a surprise - if we kept our fitness when not doing intervals, there wouldn't be much reason to do intervals...  It'll be a few weeks before I'm running with my regular group, but I'll get there.  Raced a 10K on Sunday, and the result was much the same.  I'm not totally fit, but not in bad shape.

Also an interesting observation.   Last week I backed my car (actually an SUV) into a pole, resulting in a lengthy body shop stay for the car.  Fortunately, I have a generous sig other, who lent me one of his cars (yes, he has cars.  He's one of those - a car person).  My car is an SUV, the loaner was a sedan.

Around the same time, I started getting another re-occurence of my left piriformis issue - the same one that bugged me on Shamrock race weekend, the same one that I've experienced after other car rides.  I kept going in for massages and ART to get it released, kept foam rolling, kept stretching.  But it kept coming back.  And every time I drove more than a mile, my left hamstring cramped.

Eventually, the lightbulb went off (confirmed by massage guy and ART guy) - the CAR was causing the issue.  Specifically, the way I sit.  I sit much more upright in my own car - the seat is higher so my knees are at a tighter angle, and the seat's also more vertical.  But when I sit or drive in a sedan, the seat is lower, and the overall position more reclined.  Hip at a wider angle, legs stretched out in front.  And something about that position drives my piriformis nuts, in turn making my whole left leg go wonky.

Got my car back on Friday, drove it all weekend, leg felt fine.  I did ride in a cab on Sunday briefly, but the cab was a van, not a sedan, and I also made a point to sit more vertically, with my knees up (of course, I can't drive like that).  No major twinges.  So mystery solved.

Just means I gotta give a lot of thought next time I go car shopping.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 60 minutes of easy pool-running for “6 miles” plus upper body and core strengthwork.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  11.5 miles including an interval workout of 400, 800, 2x1200, 800, 400; split 89, 2:56, 4:26, 4:24, 2:51, 80.  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes shakeout pool-running. Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 9 miles very easy (8:36 pace) followed by yoga.  Later did another 5 miles easy (7:53 pace).  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 50 minutes of easy pool-running for “5 miles” followed by upper body strength training and some injury prevention work.   Foam-rolling at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 8 miles, including a mile pick-up (6:17). Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 2000 yards swimming breathing drills.  Foam-rolling at night.

Sunday:   In the morning, 3 mile warm-up, and then 10K race in 39:15.  20 minutes shakeout pool-running in the afternoon; yoga and foam rolling at night.

Race Report: Pikes Peek, 4/21/13

I ran the Pikes Peek 10K this morning, finishing in a time of 39:15.  I'm pretty happy with this one, though it hurt like heck at the time.

A lot of times, when awaiting the race start, people will ask me what time I'm shooting to run.  My answer's always the same:  I don't know.  And I really don't.  I train and race best when I shoot for effort levels, rather than times.  So, I know that I'm going to run 10K race effort for 6.21 miles, but I don't know what time that will end up being.

But usually, I at least have some idea approximately where I'll be.  I know whether I'll be closer to 19 minutes or 20 minutes for the 5K, for example.  But for today's race, I didn't even know that.  I've done a total of two bits of fast running since my marathon (and post marathon break) - one a set of tempo intervals, the other a set of normal track intervals.  Both went surprisingly well.  But there's a difference between workouts and races.  One is individual pieces, the other is the completed puzzle.

But what the heck - how better to find out where I am then to race.  And I've really missed racing.  So, I jumped into Pike's Peek - a big local 10K with a net downhill that's notoriously fast.  The weather predictions of chill with a tailwind?  A plus.

Of course, I knew this might be a bit..uncomfortable.  First workouts after a break are often a bit of a shock to the system, and first races back moreso.  But, the best way to remove a bandaid is to rip it off.

So I did.  Drove myself up to Rockville to park at the finish, and then grabbed a cab to the start (this worked wonderfully well, BTW).  Warmed-up, handed my throwaway top to my coach (just because I'm willing to toss it doesn't mean I won't try to save it for next race), said hi to friends, and then we started.

***

This race always goes out very fast.  It's notorious as a very fast course, but I think that does a lot of people wrong - they buy into the hype, start like bats out of hell because they think they're supposed to, and then fall apart half way through the race.

This is a very fast race, but it's not an easy race.  It's net downhill but it does have some hills, which are unforgiving to those in oxygen debt.  The trick to running this race well is to not think of it as a fast course.  Race it like you would any other moderately hilly 10K, and you'll do really well, assisted by the ~190 foot net drop. 

Keeping this in mind, I made sure to stay patient especially through the first 2 miles.  Patient, relaxed - that was pretty much the extent of my race plan, but especially from the gun.

And that was how I ran it.  Relaxed, running hard but never rushing, and trying to keep as even an effort as possible, which meant slowing a bit on the uphills, and then catching people on the downhills.   I had the benefit of many teammates cheering, especially in the first few miles.  That was helpful, because I was able to wave and fist pump at them.  I don't do the friendly wave thing for them, but for me - I've learned that if I can't wave at friends in the first half of a race, I'm going out too hard, and need to correct.  It's a helpful metric.

Even so, this was a tough race for me.  Nothing but easy running tends to make one a bit soft - unused to the pain of hard racing.  Burning lungs was something I haven't felt in quite some time.  The moderate uphills hurt, frankly.  I tend to run best when I run a steady progressive type of effort - opening up a bit more each mile.  Hills, even when I try to do even effort, do result in more of a surge/recovery type pacing - not my favorite thing.  But I dealt.  Like you do when ripping off a bandaid.

***

It's funny, the thoughts that run through your head when racing - the small bits of negativity and unhelpful suggestions that pop up - sometimes in the most amusing ways.  To explain in more detail, the race course for Pike's Peek winds down the Rockville Pike - not too far from where I grew up.  Rockville Pike is basically a litany of strip malls, packed full of places I stopped by as a child or teenager (or, occasionally, as an adult).  The car wash, the office for my accountant, the Mexican restaurant that we went to when I was a kid, the David's Bridal where I bought my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding - they're all there.  Leading to repeated mental detours like the following:

"Oh look - there's where the comic book store is, I think.  Why don't I stop running and see what they have."

Um....no.  You have a race to finish first (plus, it's Sunday before 9:00 am, no way they're open).  I redirected, and focused on relaxing my way up the next hill.

***

Sure enough, the race hurt more the further I got.  Racing at an effort higher than your lactate threshold is a completely different beast from cruising below that level.  About mile 4, I got the weirdest nostalgia ever: "y'know, if this was a marathon and I had two miles to go, life would be a lot more pleasant right now."  We'll file that under other weird racing thoughts - I dunno as anyone would think that's a rational statement.  On the other hand, I don't recall wishing I was racing a 10K during my last marathon.

So, relaxed again, embraced the burn, and kept on.  By now, people were starting to noticeably slow - that fact helped distract from the pain.  Passing is always fun. 

As we got closer to the finish, more and more people started screaming at me to "kick" - I was tempted, but then remembered that I kick best when I don't push, but just relax.  It was an effort, but instead of pumping my arms and legs harder, I just tried to release as much tension as possible.  And it worked once more, as I flowed strong to the finish.

Crossed the finish smoothly, but completely spent and staggering.  No doubt I left it all out there.   And fitness wise?  Both physically and mentally, I'm in decent shape.  I ran 39:15 - exactly the same time I ran last year.  Given where I am in my training right now, I'll take this as excellent.  And mentally, I may not have run a race in some time, but I executed this one very well - good pacing, stayed relaxed, confident, and focused.  Not bad at all.

Splits ended up being 6:18, 6:18, 6:22, 6:21, 6:24, and then 7:30 for the last 1.21 (6:12 pace).   It doesn't look like it was negatively split here, but I believe that effort-wise, it was.  Given the uphill/downhill nature of the course, splits don't always reflect the effort level.

Other notes:

• Got second in my age group (also, just like last year).  That's a $50 check.  Yay for races that pay for themselves, and then some.
• Weather was awesome for the most part - temperature was in the low 40s - perfect for racing.   We had a tailwind for the most part, though I could swear we had a few gusts of a decent head wind at some points on course.  In particular, I remember one or two times where I ducked behind someone else.  Not sure if anyone else remembers this - I got a crazy look or two when I mentioned this.  Maybe just me.
• In the morning, got to White Flint at 6:40 am and met my cab there.  The cab ride to the start took 15 minutes.  I've decided this is the way to do it - so nice to have my car at the finish so I could go run errands right after the race.
• Bib pick-up was at the White Flint mall, in the food court known as "The Eatery."  If running down Rockville Pike was an exercise in nostalgia, bib pick-up was a step beyond.  The Eatery is where my mom used to take me to lunch way back when,  like when I was 6 or 7 (and I don't think I've been back there much since).  It doesn't look at all similar to how I remember it.  But a few decades does that to us all.
• Pollen was bad today.  Damn trees stop having sex.