Race for Education 5K/10K - Run10k


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Midway, Kentucky
United States
Race for Education
45F / 7C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 06m 30s
Overall Rank = 72/78
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 6/6
Pre-race routine:

I woke early, showered, and gathered my gear. The race is about a 30min drive from home, so I drove out and found a very convenient parking spot. Then, I registered for the race, and took my t-shirt (a nice, white long sleeved one) back to the car. I wandered around, found a porta-potty, and watched a diesel train engine wander up and down the track. The engine was there courtesy of a local railroad services magnate who is a huge running fan. They actually started the race with a blast from the engine's air horn!
Event warmup:

About 20min before the race start, I ran to my car and back to get rid of my warmup pants. This took about 5 minutes round trip, and got my HR up to 145-ish. My hands were still cold, but the rest of me was not. I stretched out some while chatting with some friends, and soon it was time to move up to the start line. It was still chilly, so I kept my warmup jacket on.
Run
  • 1h 06m 30s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 10m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

My HR data shows I paced the run pretty evenly, and the time splits should give an idea of where the hilly sections are. The last 1.2 miles seemed to go on forever. Water stops were at mile 2 and mile 5. Based on my earlier 5K performances, this was about :20/mi off my LT pace, but very close to my "LH" ("legs hurt") pace, so I'm pleased with that. Plus, I stopped a couple times to take a picture with my cell phone, so that probably took :30 to 1:00 off my overall time.

At the start I was chilly and my hands were suffering a bit. By mile 1, the jacket was tied around my waist, and somewhere in there I ceased to notice my hands. By the turnaround I was sweating, and felt very good by the end.

I only walked at the two water stops. I haven't figured out how to drink and run yet!

I've found that I like the hills better than a completely flat course. Hills (and turns) break things up, and allow an ebb and flow to the effort. Flats just seem to go on forever and get boring.
What would you do differently?:

Run more. A lot more. I paced it pretty well, but I'm still very slow. I think there were 6 people behind me. That's okay. Only months and months (years?) of consistent running will fix that. I would probably also leave the jacket at the race start and just be cold for a little while. Maybe wear a light pair of gloves that I could stuff in a pocket instead.
Post race
Warm down:

I didn't have a lot of time to cool off, due to other commitments, so I basically walked around for about 10 minutes and then got in the car for the drive home. I celebrated with a cinnamon roll from my favorite local bakery, while bringing home some pastries to thank my lovely wife who supervised the kids despite a migraine!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Experience. I ran as fast as my current fitness level allowed, and paced it very consistenly despite the hills. I simply need to put hundreds of miles on my legs. Consistenly.

Event comments:

The race was well run and well staffed. It would have been nice to have a water stop at the turnaround, but in truth I didn't miss it with the cool weather. Also, they only had coffee and OJ at the finish line food table. Some water there would have been nice. OTOH, they had free breakfast burritos supplied by a local restaurant, and there was a post-race pancake breakfast (I couldn't stay :( ), so I can't really complain.

Not chip timed, but - typical of races run by the group that handled this one - it was well organized!

I give this one an A+, and hope to make it a staple event. Good way to close out the racing season!



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Last updated: 2006-10-07 12:00 AM
Running
01:06:30 | 06.21 miles | 10m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/6
Overall: 72/78
Performance: Good
Mile 1: 10:25 (148av/160max) Mile 2: 11:15 (155av/163max) Mile 3: 11:02 (158av/168max) Mile 4: 11:06 (161av/168max) Mile 5: 10:27 (162av/166max) Mile 6: 9:52 (164av/170max) Finish: 2:21 (168av/171max) (0.21mi)
Course: The course was a very scenic out and back from the Midway downtown, which is a nice block of shops and bistros centered on the old town train station. The first and last miles get you out of / into the town, while miles 2-5 are on quiet paved horse farm roads. Miles 2 and 5 have some pretty good, steep rollers in them, while mile 3 takes you down a hill that you get to climb out of for nearly all of mile 4. The scenery is gorgeous, with the early morning sun glistening off the dew-covered fields, and the horses were out to play with us as well. There's a fair amount of shade on the in-town sections, while the middle part is farily sunny.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4