The Next Step

Forest Park Step N Stride 10k

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Location:

New Palestine,IN,USA

Member Since:

Oct 23, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

5k - 18:59 (3/09)
4M - 25:06 (9/09)
10k - 41:01 (11/07)

Half - 1:25:58 (11/09)

Marathon - 3:06:33 (12/09)

Short-Term Running Goals:

1:25 for the half marathon
Sub 39:00 for the 10k.
3:07 marathon
18:30 5k

Upcoming Races



Long-Term Running Goals:

Break 3:00 for the marathon.

Personal:

Married, two daughters (18 and 15).  Masters runner trying to get competitive in my age group.

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony Ride 5 (Red) Lifetime Miles: 372.70
ASICS Excel 33 Lifetime Miles: 152.00
Saucony Ride 7 Lifetime Miles: 249.00
ASICS DS Trainer Lifetime Miles: 212.20
Asics Cumulus 16 Lifetime Miles: 241.30
Race: Forest Park Step N Stride 10k (6.2 Miles) 00:41:00, Place overall: 21, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.006.200.0010.20

Today I ran in the Forest Park 10k. It was a beautiful morning driving to the race. The temperature was 38 degrees and there was very little wind. I have not done this race before so I wasn't sure what to expect from the course but I noticed a few hills as I was driving into the park but nothing bad.

I did a 2 mile warm up before the race and felt pretty good. I was thinking about what to shoot for in the race since I didn't have a lot of plans for this race. I thought if I could hit something between 6:45 and 6:50 pace I would be happy. I have not run a lot of 10ks but ran one about 3 months ago in 44:12 which was not long after I had started training seriously again. So a PR seemed inevitable but I really wanted to see how my training has been progressing since I have consistent picked up my training.

There are a 5k and a 10k race and it seemed most people were doing the 5k. It seemed like there was around 200 runners doing the 10k. We started right at 9:00 and I tried to settle into a comfortable pace. I was trying to hold myself back but I felt easy and smooth. Part of the first mile was down a hill so I expected it to be quicker. I hit the first mile in 6:17 which was a real wake up. This was much faster than I had planned. I thought don't worry to try to settle into a comfortable pace and see where it would take me. I latched on to a couple of runners and tried to run with them for a while. One of the guys amazed me because he was breathing so hard it sounded like he was coming in for a sprint finish instead of just going by the first mile. Anyway the second mile felt good and I didn't feel any real strain at this point so I calmed down after the fast first mile. I came through the second mile in 6:31 which was better but still faster than I had planned. I was now running closer to 5k pace than 10k. I tried to just stayed focused on the pace on not panic. I still felt good so I thought I would see if I could hold it. The 3rd mile was pretty much the same. I didn't feel like I was pushing but it was getting harder. I came through the 3rd mile in 6:33. Now I started thinking about a big PR and wanted to see if I could hold the pace to the finish. I got my answer about a half mile later as I really started feeling the strain of the pace. I was able to hold it together pretty good and came through the 4th mile in 6:41. I didn't feel like I was crashing but I knew that I couldn't run anymore 6:30's at this point so I focused on trying to stay in the 6:45 range to the finish. The 5th mile was the hardest mile so far and I was starting to struggle some. It was also more difficult since the field had strung out and I was running by myself. I tried to focus on the runners ahead of my to see if I could make up some distance. Even with these issues I managed a 6:48 for the 5th mile. Now I was focusing on the finish and wanted to see if I could hold my pace and not slow down anymore. Another runner passed my just after the 5 mile mark and he looked pretty strong so I just focused on trying to go with him. He was pulling away a little from me but we were also passing some other runners which lifted my spirits. I knew at this point that I was paying for the fast early pace but I also knew that if I could keep it together it would be a good time for me. I was really glad to see the 6 mile mark and more glad to see that I came through in 6:36. The last .2 was up a decent hill and I wanted to push in as fast as I could. I got back in the park and rounded a curve to the finish. This was the first time I got a chance to see the clock. It was getting very close to 41:00 minutes and I thought if I can sprint I might be able to get under 41. I started pushing hard (I can't say sprinting because it was definitely not sprinting) but it was looking like I would lose the battle. I hit the line right as the clock switched over to 41.

Regardless I was very happy when I finished. This was much better than anything that I imagined and much better than all the predictor calculators that I played around with last week. It was very satisfying to see the results of sticking with a consistent training plan. This really pumps me up to stay with the plan and see where it takes me. I never kept my mileage consistent through the winter. I have always cut way back and it shows in the spring. I really want to focus on building a good base this winter that I can build from.

Comments
From Tom on Sat, Nov 10, 2007 at 20:49:45

Congrats on a great race and awesome PR! Really enjoyed reading your race report. Looks like your age and current fitness level are very similar to mine (I turn 43 next week, 10K PR is just over 41). It's great to see your improvement in a short time with solid training, it makes me very eager and excited to do a race soon to see where I'm at. I expect you'll be achieving your 2008 goals easily.

From Sasha Pachev on Sat, Nov 10, 2007 at 22:20:52

Congratulations on the progress. You are now able to run a 10 K at the pace of 3:00 marathon. So you are getting very close to being able to run the whole marathon at that pace.

From Lybi on Sun, Nov 11, 2007 at 00:47:21

What an exciting race report! Congratulations on the great performance and the smoking time.

From Jim on Sun, Nov 11, 2007 at 15:08:04

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. Tom, it is good to see someone at a similar level and what they do in terms of training. I will be following your progress as well. This is the most mileage that I have ever ran and have been doing it for about 5 months now so it is good to see the results.

I think seeing what others are doing on this blog is inspiring me to do more.

From MichelleL on Mon, Nov 12, 2007 at 10:11:05

Congratulations on a great PR and for a great race. It is easier to slump in the middle when you go out so strong, but I think you'll see those midrace slumps get smaller and smaller. Just think that your slowest mile split was the goal pace for the race. Way to exceed expectations!

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