Spectrum
10k
Spectrum
10k was not quite as I expected. It was good race for me, and It was
actually only the second time I have gone under 38 in an Official
10k.
I
stayed with Criss and Val James at a condo they had rented that was
near Ivins. It made for a great experience. I left the condo early to
meet up with a few new friends for a warm up before we got on the
buses, but I was the only one that made it on time. So I ran an easy
mile feeling pretty good. Then Kimberly Hunt showed up and we ran
another mile before getting on the bus. Up at the start, we got in
another mile right before the race, and I did a couple strides just a
couple minutes before the race started. I stood at the starting line
feeling totally ready to let it rip.
There
were several women crowding the staring line, so I took a place
behind a couple of them hoping they would go out as fast as I wanted
to. They did. I was so focused on my race, that what was going on
around me became somewhat of a blur. The course was just as I
expected during the first mile, fast and downhill. I was holding on
to a 5:21 pace that felt pretty good. This is way faster than I can
run on the flat, but I was told the first 3 miles would be like this.
I normally like to run smart, but had decided to try and crush the
first 5k, knowing full well that it would cost me dearly over the
last 5k. I was just going to try to hang on after the first half.
Right
before the end of the first mile, I hit my first bump in the road,
literally. There was the tiniest of hills before the mile marker, but
it was enough to knock my 5:21 pace to a 5:23 as I went through the
first mile. On the flat, I think I would be real close to a 6:00
pace, but when I am hitting the downhill so hard, even the smallest
hills seem to destroy my pace. So it shocked me as the rollers became
more frequent, and the steep downhill disappeared through mile 2. My
pace had slipped in to the 5:40's, and I was working so hard at that
pace, that it soon dropped even more. I finished the second mile in
6:09, and knew my plan for a PR was in serious trouble.
The
third mile seemed better, but there still wasn't enough downhill for
me to get back down where I wanted to be. I needed downhill! Still I
managed to get through mile 3 in 6:00 flat, and I had hopes that the
second half wouldn't be as hard as I anticipated. I rolled through
the 5k mark in 18:07, which is fantastic for me, but I felt I needed
to be 37 seconds faster at that point.
Around
3.6, the course turned and definitely went up hill. To make matters
worse, the breeze that had helped us down the canyon, was now in our
face. I'm sure a lot of what happened to me here was from going out
too fast, but I felt like I had nothing on the hills, my pace got
slower and slower, and I even got passed by a couple people. I hate
getting passed! The race became even more of a blur as I trudged
through a 6:23, then a 6:24 mile. Now I was just trying to hold on
for the best time I could. I knew the PR was not going to happen.
By
mile 6 I had faded to about a 6:40 pace. I had tried to hang on to
the ones that had passed me, but I had no life left in me.
Fortunately we got a little more downhill when we turned the second
to last corner, and I was able to finish that last full mile @ 6:27.
The final turn left us less than 400 to go, and although I was on the
edge of puking (it's what I do), I figured I could postpone it if I
kept the wheels turning from the downhill. So I ran the last .2 @
5:44 pace, saving the dry heaving for after I crossed the timing mat.
I
finished the race in 37:31, my second fastest 10k ever, and it's not
even spring yet. So I actually feel pretty dang good about it, but I
feel I could have ran faster on a flat course. I really don't think
this is the fast course people said it would be. I can't make up as
much time on the downhill, as the uphills cost me.
I
spent a lot of time telling about a race that was somewhat of a blur.
It was just one of those grueling races that didn't quite go as
planned, even though I am happy with the final result and the effort.
I
finished 1st in my age group with the other 2 in my age group being
close behind me, and one of them I even passed in mile 5. I finished
15th overall. That is a good day for me.
(5:23 6:09 6:00 6:23 6:24 6:27 .2 @ 5:44)
