Distance: 11.7 mi.
Warmup: 2.1 mi.
Race: 10km (6.24 mi.) in 40:53.27/6:34 ppm.
Cooldown: 3.4 mi. in 27:39.
Splits: 6:09; 6:25.6; 6:42.4; 6:45.3; 6:46.3; 6:26.8; 1:37.9.
Map and Elevation
What, a race? Already? Damn right, people! I waffled about this one the latter part of the week, but late Friday morning I got a text from Chris Lamperski saying he was going to relinquish his free entry from Greenapple, and wanted me to have it - what a guy! I knew I was not in great shape, especially for a 10k, but was splendidly excited about toeing the line again.
The race would start at 7:45 so I awoke around 6:15 to get ready. There would be no eating, but I've eaten exceptionally well all week by anyone's standards (more on that later) and packed on the nutrients late last night. Febreezy was up and at 'em as well, but headed out for an easy run in lieu of the race. By 7 a.m. I was parked in the 7th Street garage and began warming up. Since Greenapple wasn't there yet, I dropped off my stuff at the RFYL tent (thanks, Emily!) and found my friends: David Brinkley, Brian Baum, and Jeff Schmidt. I had already warmed up for over a mile at this point so I let them go when I found Dr. G and gladly retrieved my race entry. I made sure he knew I was grateful for the free entry, turned it in, and finished warming up.
Back at the start line, I found a spot behind Baum and Jeff and asked what their goals were. Baum is pretty fit at this point and Brinkley is very fit, but Jeff seemed to want to break 40, like me, so I figured I would try to keep him in my sights.
A glance at my splits would indicate I started off way too fast, and I probably did, but the first mile is downhill so it wasn't as bad as it looks. I got dropped by the initial chase pack, though, and just tried to keep Jeff in my sights as he would remain about 15 meters ahead of me for the next few miles. My heels were rubbing raw against the back of my flats and I would later find them to be bloodied up after the race. I tried to put that distraction behind me for now and worry about it later.
We wandered through the Elizabeth area, near the hospitals, and made our way back towards the Brixx Pizza on 6th Street. Seeing the clock at the 5-mile mark lit a fire under me and I took off, catching Jeff and two other men, but I was well behind my goal. I got passed back by one guy going up 7th Street and stumbled into the chute just under 41 minutes.
It's hard to know what to think about this one. On the one hand, this was 6:34 pace, and I was doing tempo runs at 6:15 pace back in March. On the other hand, one can't always be in marathon shape so it's important to keep these things in perspective. On the other other hand, I knew full well that I would lose fitness while trying to rest this summer, and I think this is a pretty good effort for a rust-buster.
Most importantly, I'm glad to be back out on the roads and racing again. The atmosphere was outstanding as I got to see all my friends and enjoy more free stuff, such as pizza and beer. Fun times.
Warmup: 2.1 mi.
Race: 10km (6.24 mi.) in 40:53.27/6:34 ppm.
Cooldown: 3.4 mi. in 27:39.
Splits: 6:09; 6:25.6; 6:42.4; 6:45.3; 6:46.3; 6:26.8; 1:37.9.
Map and Elevation
What, a race? Already? Damn right, people! I waffled about this one the latter part of the week, but late Friday morning I got a text from Chris Lamperski saying he was going to relinquish his free entry from Greenapple, and wanted me to have it - what a guy! I knew I was not in great shape, especially for a 10k, but was splendidly excited about toeing the line again.
The race would start at 7:45 so I awoke around 6:15 to get ready. There would be no eating, but I've eaten exceptionally well all week by anyone's standards (more on that later) and packed on the nutrients late last night. Febreezy was up and at 'em as well, but headed out for an easy run in lieu of the race. By 7 a.m. I was parked in the 7th Street garage and began warming up. Since Greenapple wasn't there yet, I dropped off my stuff at the RFYL tent (thanks, Emily!) and found my friends: David Brinkley, Brian Baum, and Jeff Schmidt. I had already warmed up for over a mile at this point so I let them go when I found Dr. G and gladly retrieved my race entry. I made sure he knew I was grateful for the free entry, turned it in, and finished warming up.
Back at the start line, I found a spot behind Baum and Jeff and asked what their goals were. Baum is pretty fit at this point and Brinkley is very fit, but Jeff seemed to want to break 40, like me, so I figured I would try to keep him in my sights.
A glance at my splits would indicate I started off way too fast, and I probably did, but the first mile is downhill so it wasn't as bad as it looks. I got dropped by the initial chase pack, though, and just tried to keep Jeff in my sights as he would remain about 15 meters ahead of me for the next few miles. My heels were rubbing raw against the back of my flats and I would later find them to be bloodied up after the race. I tried to put that distraction behind me for now and worry about it later.
We wandered through the Elizabeth area, near the hospitals, and made our way back towards the Brixx Pizza on 6th Street. Seeing the clock at the 5-mile mark lit a fire under me and I took off, catching Jeff and two other men, but I was well behind my goal. I got passed back by one guy going up 7th Street and stumbled into the chute just under 41 minutes.
It's hard to know what to think about this one. On the one hand, this was 6:34 pace, and I was doing tempo runs at 6:15 pace back in March. On the other hand, one can't always be in marathon shape so it's important to keep these things in perspective. On the other other hand, I knew full well that I would lose fitness while trying to rest this summer, and I think this is a pretty good effort for a rust-buster.
Most importantly, I'm glad to be back out on the roads and racing again. The atmosphere was outstanding as I got to see all my friends and enjoy more free stuff, such as pizza and beer. Fun times.
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