Today was the Scotland Run 10K -- always a highlight of the season. The Scots give out flags, and other items showing the flag such as rain ponchos and the usual t-shirts. Runners show up in plaid and kilts, and spirits are high. This year, it was a club points race, which added a whole other element of excitement.
The weather was miserably cold and rainy, but the NYC runners still turned out in full force. There were 7600 finishers -- something of a mystery since the race was supposed to be capped at 5000...
The weather was fine for running, but rough for standing around. When the race was over, I was freezing. I saw Trakmaniak wearing his kilt -- I can't imagine how much water weight that wool took on in the pouring rain. PD left his kilt at home, but has to be forgiven due to his speedy run, which was the fastest in the club. Lammy was there, enjoying his Boston taper by taking photos instead of running.
I cut back on miles and replaced speed work and tempo runs with easy paced runs. I ran a short race, but started in one of the back corrals and ran at a comfortable pace.
I balanced out this change (somewhat) by doing a bit more swimming and core work. It seemed to be working, so today I let myself go a bit in the Scotland Run 10K.
I showed up so late that race officials had already removed the barriers between the first two corrals and everyone had moved up. I was able to squeeze into my corral, but effectively I was a corral back. As a result, the first mile was slow, but it didn't bother me. Because I had been so late, I was not able to warm up properly, and starting out conservatively seemed like a good idea.
I hit my stride in the second mile and felt good. From there I continued to gain speed, and more importantly, felt strong. The end result was 43:03 (6:56/mile). Five seconds per mile slower than PR pace, but I found it very encouraging.
If I continue to feel strong, I'll ratchet the training back up and shoot for a 10K PR soon. The Healthy Kidney 10K is coming up in a month.... seems just about right.
Here are the splits from today.
Mile 1] 7:19
Mile 2] 6:58
Mile 3] 6:49
Mile 4] 7:02 (Great Hill - East Side)
Mile 5] 6:45 *
Mile 6] 6:45 *(Missed my split at mile 5. Based on 13:30 for miles 5 and 6)
Last 0.2] 1:24
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2 comments:
Nice race. It seemed like you were working a good pace when I saw you.
Being late for a race is always my biggest fear. I started freaking out yesterday at 9:40 when I was still at baggage check and ran the whole way back to the chute, stretching there. Glad you were able to make it through the first slow mile without getting too annoyed -- that would have made me crazy.
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