Monday, May 01, 2006
Race Report: St. Charles CC 10K
I got up in plenty of time to get to the race. I grabbed a banana, some water, and a trail mix bar and headed out the door. The race site was about a half-hour away from the house, but I left early as I had not preregistered and, let's face it, there isn't that much to do at that hour. I didn't have any trouble registering and got to warm-up, stretch, and potty before the race started.
When the race started it was raining. It was a light rain, neither driving nor heavy. My initial plan was to go out slowly with a nice conservative first mile or two and then to pick it up on the back half. Since I didn't have a watch, I figured that I would try and depend on the kindness of strangers. I came through the first mile about 7:30 and did a second mile in 7:45 for an approximate two mile time of 15:15. I didn't have anyone near me when I came through the next couple of mile markers, so I didn't get my splits. Through the halfway point, there hadn't really been any hills, just slight rises, but the fourth mile marker was on a decent sized hill. After the hill, the course did an out-and-back, so I could see the runners ahead of me as I ran out and the runners behind me as I ran back. It was good for my ego to see the few runners ahead of me and the many runners behind. I hit the five mile marker after the turnaround and paced with a runner twenty meters ahead of me through the next stretch as the wind blew in my face. I crested the top of the rise and was able to see the end of the race half a mile and change ahead of me. So I started my kick. I was able to pass the guy that I'd paced with and reel in four or five other runners. Going into the final stretch there were two other runners ahead of me and I burst past them with under 100 meters to go. I crossed the finish line at 49:38.
Results
My time of 49:38 placed me 36th overall (out of 112). I averaged 8:00 per mile. To have placed in the top five in my age group, I would have needed to have run 7:37/mile or better. To have placed in the top 10 overall, I would have needed to have run a 6:56 or better. I do think that my goals are very reasonable for the summer.
Some observations:
When the race started it was raining. It was a light rain, neither driving nor heavy. My initial plan was to go out slowly with a nice conservative first mile or two and then to pick it up on the back half. Since I didn't have a watch, I figured that I would try and depend on the kindness of strangers. I came through the first mile about 7:30 and did a second mile in 7:45 for an approximate two mile time of 15:15. I didn't have anyone near me when I came through the next couple of mile markers, so I didn't get my splits. Through the halfway point, there hadn't really been any hills, just slight rises, but the fourth mile marker was on a decent sized hill. After the hill, the course did an out-and-back, so I could see the runners ahead of me as I ran out and the runners behind me as I ran back. It was good for my ego to see the few runners ahead of me and the many runners behind. I hit the five mile marker after the turnaround and paced with a runner twenty meters ahead of me through the next stretch as the wind blew in my face. I crested the top of the rise and was able to see the end of the race half a mile and change ahead of me. So I started my kick. I was able to pass the guy that I'd paced with and reel in four or five other runners. Going into the final stretch there were two other runners ahead of me and I burst past them with under 100 meters to go. I crossed the finish line at 49:38.
Results
My time of 49:38 placed me 36th overall (out of 112). I averaged 8:00 per mile. To have placed in the top five in my age group, I would have needed to have run 7:37/mile or better. To have placed in the top 10 overall, I would have needed to have run a 6:56 or better. I do think that my goals are very reasonable for the summer.
Some observations:
- From the second mile marker on, I passed more people than passed me, so I felt good about my pace.
- I'm always sort of ambivalent about having a strong finishing kick. If I can finish this strong, shouldn't I have run faster in the miles previously?
- I really need to run with a watch. And maybe a heart rate monitor.
- I didn't mind the rain and the cold. In fact, I preferred it to sun and heat.
- Finishing a race that you've gone to by yourself is kind of lonely.
# posted by mypetrock : 6:12 AM
