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This weekend's race will be a first for me. I've never run a race longer than 10K before and I'm a bit anxious about it. Yeah I know, it's not that much longer than a 10K but in my mind anything above a 10K is a long race, whereas 10K's and 5K's are short races. I consider this the first racing step towards completing a marathon. So for my goals. I have three.
Goal #1. To finish the race strong and uninjured. I don't foresee this being a problem. Yeah, I didn't train as well as I should have but I'm feeling good. I did 8 miles last Sunday, and completed 10 miles a few months ago.
Goal #2. To finish under two hours. Last Sunday I ran 8 miles with an average of 11:29 per mile. If I can maintain that pace for an additional 2 miles, I'll be under two hours. Since I started too fast last week, I think I'll be fine as long as I take it slower out of the gate.
Goal #3. The pie in the sky. I'd like to run it under 11:00 per mile. This is an achievable goal, provided I can manage my pacing. Tuesday I actually ran 1.5 miles at a 10:10 pace. If only I could keep that up for 10 miles!
Plan of attack:
Saturday the family and I are going to take the metro down to pick up my racing packet and check out the Expo. We don't plan to spend all day in DC, as we want to get pumpkins for Halloween with the kids too.
Sunday, the goal is to leave the house about 4:45. It takes roughly an hour to drive to the closest metro, which opens at 6:00. Generally it takes roughly an hour to metro down to the race area, putting us there about 7:00. I can not enter the corral before 7:20, giving us a bit of time incase of delays.
I plan to start off slow for the first mile. Looking for around a 12:00 per mile pace. Then once I've settled into it, increase the pace up and push myself. I'm upping my running ratio to a 2.5/1 run walk to give that extra 30 seconds of running to increase my time.
After the race we're planning to meet a college friend for lunch, then head home for a well deserved nap.
Provided all goes well, I'm going to register for the Shamrock Marathon on Sunday.
I hope everyone enjoys the weekend and if you're racing, good luck!
8 comments:
You're going to do great!! Good luck!
Excellent planning and forethought.
Have a wonderful race.
best wishes. i've never run a 10 mile race, but i think it would be a fun distance
I found you through Kim!
I was at Shamrock last year (I had to bail due to injury but my friends did it). Good race but ends in the hot sun on the boardwalk!
Sounds like you've got it all figured out-- good luck!!
Good luck, James! Ran outside today for the first time since early spring. It felt great, except for the stomach cramps that crept up on me about 10 minutes into my hour long run... yes, a case of the "Oh man I have to shit so bad"s. I pushed through and didn't stop once. Not really sure how far I ran, but I did my full hour, so probably about 5 miles.
Annie, I've been there before. It's always a struggle. trying to get done without letting it loose. GOod job on the hour run.
Have a great race and a fun weekend!
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