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Race Report: This weekend I ran 10K and it didn't even suck
Short-short version: 01:03:10 - PR!
Short version: I had hoped for sub-1h2m, and think I could have made it, if not for the GIANT HILL they re-routed the course over this year. Other than not making hopeful-target, I had a really good race, though, and wasn't particularly knackered after crossing the finishing line. Which means I could have pushed harder and made my target that way. Still, good race, PR, and room for improvement, yay!
Conditions: Mid-morning race start, sunny w/ very few clouds. Temperature was 20°-ish C at start, 24°-ish at finish. Felt warmer than that, but then we've had a cool summer.
Course: Roughly 50 % streets/sidewalks, 50 % dirt roads/forest paths. GIANT HILL at K4.
Gear: In the morning before the race, I went to my brother's to pick up the T-shirt he had printed for us with his business logo. I told him get me a purple if possible, otherwise green or blue. So obviously he got me a bright pink, bless him :o) !
I ran in the most wonderful sports bra ever made, an old Swegmark model. I hadn't had time to wash my newest sports bra (a Casall, which is ok good, but not stellar), so I wore my what, 5-6 year old Swegmark? It worked fine, though obviously it has lost some of its elasticity - I wish I knew which of their current models correspond to my old one (I can't even read the name of it, wash tag's long faded) :o(
Just before heading to race start, I opted to leave my iphone w/ RunKeeper at my brother's: It's clunky and heavy, and would need to be in a bag to keep me from sweating too much on it through my short tights. So I just had to hope the chip would work this time and give me a correct finishing time.
Pre-race intake (and output): Had two helpings of rolled oats at breakfast, because I didn't have my usual müsli on hand, not being at home. Two helpings was a bit much, but it had pretty much settled by the time the race started. Cup of coffee expedited things at the other end - always good to get out of the way before a race.
Day was very sunny, and promised to get quite warm - I had drunk water before leaving home, and managed to pee just before heading out to the race start - a total win in itself: A couple of years ago, I couldn't go, and ended up running 10 K needing to pee - not recommended!
Race start: Didn't participate in the warm-up before the race - I never do, as they always go all out, and I kind of want to save some energy for racing. So just jogged in place, and warmed up my ankles and shoulders, and kept my trousers and jacket on for as long as possible to keep warm (not that it was cold as such, but we were in the shade).
Have gotten so much better at not starting out too fast, and running my own pace instead. Still, it's impossible not to get a little caught up in the excitement. Running in my old home town, the start congestion wasn't as frustrating as sometimes, as I knew what was coming up, and could place myself strategically ahead of time.
1st/2nd K: During races I like to select rabbits, or more accurately pacers-who-become-rabbits (and then sometimes chasers): I pick a person in front of me who seems to be going at a pace I can follow, and then try to stick to that. Mostly though, especially in the beginning of races, I realize really they are running too slow for me, but stay behind for a while longer, because I fear I'm misjudging my own stamina. Then I got annoyed running so slow, and overtake them :o)
My first rabbit (i.e. pacer) was a woman in her early 40s, maybe, with a dark red shirt. She was doing a splendid job, then we got separated by four guys in their 20s. You know how often women are accused of hogging the path, chatting amongst themselves? We turned into a quite narrow path with little opportunity for overtaking (unless you wanted to chance the slippery slopes on either side), but these guys kept running two and two, chatting away. One of them had recently had a stint in the military, and amused himself by shouting drills - "Se liiiige UD!" ("Eyes FRONT!"). I'm thinking, Dude, if you have that much air, you're not running fast enough!
They were quite funny, though, so it was almost sad when they turned off to follow the ½-marathon course, while I turned the other way for the 10K. But hey, red-shirt rabbit was suddenly in front of me again! It was quite the emotional reunion for me and her back.
3rd/4th K: Beginning and end of race are in town, but 7 K or so are nature-y - open road/fields and forest. By the time we were out of town, I felt I was running at a very good pace - not slow, and one I felt I could keep up for maybe the entire 10 K (I've always had to stop and walk on 10Ks before). At about 1K out, I realized I had forgotten to tape my knee. Was quite worried about that, but my knee held up splendidly - who knew being in better shape made such a difference!
There I was, then, running along, thinking this was going well, when suddenly the course veered - off-course, as they'd decided to reroute this year. Instead of continuing on a level road, suddenly we went into a field on a fairly new dirt road, winding up and up a GIANT HILL in the middle of nothing. It was one of those depressing winding roads, where you can see the lines of runners all the way up D:
So then I was desperately trying to remember whatever![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ilanarama have said about walking the hills vs. not walking the hills, and depending on fitness level - and couldn't remember a thing. So decided to wing it, and see what my rabbit did. Red-shirt didn't stop to walk, so neither did I. I guess it was hard work running up the hill in the sun, but it doesn't seem like it was that bad - now, anyways. When we reached the top, I even overtook my rabbit, without meaning to!
5th/6th K: Then I found another rabbit, also a women in her 40s, but didn't stay with her very long: Soon after the hill (mmm, and some lovely running down the other side, which I swear wasn't half as long as the uphill stretch) was the first water post (at around 5K, as it turned out). While approaching, I debated taking water vs. not taking water/stopping to walk or not. I ended up compromising by taking water while running, and drinking while running. There was some spillage, but gah, the watered-down sports drink was so nice and cold, and just slightly sweet, and I really want to drink the whole cup. I've made that mistake before, so I prudently drank just under half, then set the cup down by a volunteer's chair (still running \o/ ), and went on.
At the water post, I lost new!rabbit, as she stopped to drink. Ended up behind two women, who further on talked about we must be at 6K soon, though they didn't see a 5K sign, and I thought they were very unintelligent, because obviously we had only just passed the 4K sign on GIANT HILL. Then we came to the 6K sign right after that ^_^
7th/8th K: So suddenly I was over half-way, but also beginning to feel it. I'm super-happy I decided and managed to run up Giant Hill, but it also took its toll. Luckily this next stretch was in the forest with lots of shade, but even so, I could feel myself not going very fast - I tried to convince my legs surely we could go a bit faster, but they were all, Not if you want to run the rest of the way, we can't!
Still, managed to overtake new!new!rabbit, a woman younger than me in a purple shirt. Then she overtook me right back, dammit. Then I overtook her back, and skipped the last water post 2K before the finish, to make sure I stayed ahead. Not that it was warm enough to make any sense to drink 2K before the finish.
9th/10th K: Home stretch: Last 2K were harder than the first 2K, imagine! Again, they don't seem so bad now, but I know at the time I did think about stopping to walk. Kept running instead, even managed to speed up slightly on the last couple hundred meters, which very unfairly are uphill. Even if not steep, still unfair at that point in the race.
Finishing time a good minute slower than I had hoped, but almost 2 mins faster than I had given myself leave to run, if necessary.
The first time I ran this race, in 2007, I was completely shaky and weak after crossing the finishing line. I remember being surprised how tired my arms were! I was trying to peel half a banana, while holding a cup of watered-down sports drink, and ended up spilling half of it down my leg, because my arms would not cooperate, lol.
This time, I was not that tired (which again obviously means I could have gone faster. Just didn't feel like I could have, while I was running…), got my pieces of fruit and cup of water, then stood by the side of the finish and cheered people on. Soon after my finish, the first ½-marathoners came in, which is always depressing, considering we start out at the same time.
I haven't been very sore afterwards, either - my bum knee has had that fragile feeling it always has after 10Ks, but I'm thinking I can go out for a slow run soon. However, I have (I think) decided not to run another 10K this week - I think my knee probably won't appreciate it, and I should rather concentrate on the 5K relay I'm doing with work middle of next week.
My first proper race report, thanks for reading!
Short version: I had hoped for sub-1h2m, and think I could have made it, if not for the GIANT HILL they re-routed the course over this year. Other than not making hopeful-target, I had a really good race, though, and wasn't particularly knackered after crossing the finishing line. Which means I could have pushed harder and made my target that way. Still, good race, PR, and room for improvement, yay!
Conditions: Mid-morning race start, sunny w/ very few clouds. Temperature was 20°-ish C at start, 24°-ish at finish. Felt warmer than that, but then we've had a cool summer.
Course: Roughly 50 % streets/sidewalks, 50 % dirt roads/forest paths. GIANT HILL at K4.
Gear: In the morning before the race, I went to my brother's to pick up the T-shirt he had printed for us with his business logo. I told him get me a purple if possible, otherwise green or blue. So obviously he got me a bright pink, bless him :o) !
I ran in the most wonderful sports bra ever made, an old Swegmark model. I hadn't had time to wash my newest sports bra (a Casall, which is ok good, but not stellar), so I wore my what, 5-6 year old Swegmark? It worked fine, though obviously it has lost some of its elasticity - I wish I knew which of their current models correspond to my old one (I can't even read the name of it, wash tag's long faded) :o(
Just before heading to race start, I opted to leave my iphone w/ RunKeeper at my brother's: It's clunky and heavy, and would need to be in a bag to keep me from sweating too much on it through my short tights. So I just had to hope the chip would work this time and give me a correct finishing time.
Pre-race intake (and output): Had two helpings of rolled oats at breakfast, because I didn't have my usual müsli on hand, not being at home. Two helpings was a bit much, but it had pretty much settled by the time the race started. Cup of coffee expedited things at the other end - always good to get out of the way before a race.
Day was very sunny, and promised to get quite warm - I had drunk water before leaving home, and managed to pee just before heading out to the race start - a total win in itself: A couple of years ago, I couldn't go, and ended up running 10 K needing to pee - not recommended!
Race start: Didn't participate in the warm-up before the race - I never do, as they always go all out, and I kind of want to save some energy for racing. So just jogged in place, and warmed up my ankles and shoulders, and kept my trousers and jacket on for as long as possible to keep warm (not that it was cold as such, but we were in the shade).
Have gotten so much better at not starting out too fast, and running my own pace instead. Still, it's impossible not to get a little caught up in the excitement. Running in my old home town, the start congestion wasn't as frustrating as sometimes, as I knew what was coming up, and could place myself strategically ahead of time.
1st/2nd K: During races I like to select rabbits, or more accurately pacers-who-become-rabbits (and then sometimes chasers): I pick a person in front of me who seems to be going at a pace I can follow, and then try to stick to that. Mostly though, especially in the beginning of races, I realize really they are running too slow for me, but stay behind for a while longer, because I fear I'm misjudging my own stamina. Then I got annoyed running so slow, and overtake them :o)
My first rabbit (i.e. pacer) was a woman in her early 40s, maybe, with a dark red shirt. She was doing a splendid job, then we got separated by four guys in their 20s. You know how often women are accused of hogging the path, chatting amongst themselves? We turned into a quite narrow path with little opportunity for overtaking (unless you wanted to chance the slippery slopes on either side), but these guys kept running two and two, chatting away. One of them had recently had a stint in the military, and amused himself by shouting drills - "Se liiiige UD!" ("Eyes FRONT!"). I'm thinking, Dude, if you have that much air, you're not running fast enough!
They were quite funny, though, so it was almost sad when they turned off to follow the ½-marathon course, while I turned the other way for the 10K. But hey, red-shirt rabbit was suddenly in front of me again! It was quite the emotional reunion for me and her back.
3rd/4th K: Beginning and end of race are in town, but 7 K or so are nature-y - open road/fields and forest. By the time we were out of town, I felt I was running at a very good pace - not slow, and one I felt I could keep up for maybe the entire 10 K (I've always had to stop and walk on 10Ks before). At about 1K out, I realized I had forgotten to tape my knee. Was quite worried about that, but my knee held up splendidly - who knew being in better shape made such a difference!
There I was, then, running along, thinking this was going well, when suddenly the course veered - off-course, as they'd decided to reroute this year. Instead of continuing on a level road, suddenly we went into a field on a fairly new dirt road, winding up and up a GIANT HILL in the middle of nothing. It was one of those depressing winding roads, where you can see the lines of runners all the way up D:
So then I was desperately trying to remember whatever
ilanarama have said about walking the hills vs. not walking the hills, and depending on fitness level - and couldn't remember a thing. So decided to wing it, and see what my rabbit did. Red-shirt didn't stop to walk, so neither did I. I guess it was hard work running up the hill in the sun, but it doesn't seem like it was that bad - now, anyways. When we reached the top, I even overtook my rabbit, without meaning to!5th/6th K: Then I found another rabbit, also a women in her 40s, but didn't stay with her very long: Soon after the hill (mmm, and some lovely running down the other side, which I swear wasn't half as long as the uphill stretch) was the first water post (at around 5K, as it turned out). While approaching, I debated taking water vs. not taking water/stopping to walk or not. I ended up compromising by taking water while running, and drinking while running. There was some spillage, but gah, the watered-down sports drink was so nice and cold, and just slightly sweet, and I really want to drink the whole cup. I've made that mistake before, so I prudently drank just under half, then set the cup down by a volunteer's chair (still running \o/ ), and went on.
At the water post, I lost new!rabbit, as she stopped to drink. Ended up behind two women, who further on talked about we must be at 6K soon, though they didn't see a 5K sign, and I thought they were very unintelligent, because obviously we had only just passed the 4K sign on GIANT HILL. Then we came to the 6K sign right after that ^_^
7th/8th K: So suddenly I was over half-way, but also beginning to feel it. I'm super-happy I decided and managed to run up Giant Hill, but it also took its toll. Luckily this next stretch was in the forest with lots of shade, but even so, I could feel myself not going very fast - I tried to convince my legs surely we could go a bit faster, but they were all, Not if you want to run the rest of the way, we can't!
Still, managed to overtake new!new!rabbit, a woman younger than me in a purple shirt. Then she overtook me right back, dammit. Then I overtook her back, and skipped the last water post 2K before the finish, to make sure I stayed ahead. Not that it was warm enough to make any sense to drink 2K before the finish.
9th/10th K: Home stretch: Last 2K were harder than the first 2K, imagine! Again, they don't seem so bad now, but I know at the time I did think about stopping to walk. Kept running instead, even managed to speed up slightly on the last couple hundred meters, which very unfairly are uphill. Even if not steep, still unfair at that point in the race.
Finishing time a good minute slower than I had hoped, but almost 2 mins faster than I had given myself leave to run, if necessary.
The first time I ran this race, in 2007, I was completely shaky and weak after crossing the finishing line. I remember being surprised how tired my arms were! I was trying to peel half a banana, while holding a cup of watered-down sports drink, and ended up spilling half of it down my leg, because my arms would not cooperate, lol.
This time, I was not that tired (which again obviously means I could have gone faster. Just didn't feel like I could have, while I was running…), got my pieces of fruit and cup of water, then stood by the side of the finish and cheered people on. Soon after my finish, the first ½-marathoners came in, which is always depressing, considering we start out at the same time.
I haven't been very sore afterwards, either - my bum knee has had that fragile feeling it always has after 10Ks, but I'm thinking I can go out for a slow run soon. However, I have (I think) decided not to run another 10K this week - I think my knee probably won't appreciate it, and I should rather concentrate on the 5K relay I'm doing with work middle of next week.
My first proper race report, thanks for reading!