Army Ten-Miler - Run10 Mile


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Washington, Washington, D.C.
United States
Army Ten-Miler
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 22m 24s
Overall Rank = 4370/21914
Age Group = F35-39
Age Group Rank = 131/1752
Pre-race routine:

I had not planned to run the ATM but was asked by a neighbor to join a team. The team ended being in the Army Reserve Mixed division and they needed a female runner. I thought it sounded fun and I would be in running shape since I am training for the JFK.

Fast forward to 2 weeks before the race, I started getting nervous about putting in a good time for the team. I had been doing lots of long, slow miles and very little speed work since I spent most of my weekday runs trying to recover from long miles on the weekend. The 4 days before the race we surprised the kids with a trip to Disney so my taper consisted of little running, lots of walking and standing on my feet four hours and quite a few food and beverage splurges. The icing on the cake was a delayed flight home and 4 hours of sleep before the race.

Needless to say, I wasn't feeling to confident at the start line that I could put in a good race. I did finally meet one teammate at the start line. Luckily we had very bright dark yellow shirts that stood out in a crowd.


Event warmup:

I did get in a two jog over the race start from my parking spot in Rosslyn.
Run
  • 1h 22m 24s
  • 10 miles
  • 08m 14s  min/mile
Comments:

I started in the 3rd section of Wave 1 towards the front. For the most part it was a good place to start. I only had a few bottlenecks in the first mile and at few turns in the third mile.

So my strategy was to start running and see what I had in my legs. I also had decided to run as hard as I could for as long as I could. I had no reason to pace myself or pick a specific pace. It was just go til I could go no longer. Turns out the strategy worked. I had done a nice 2 mile warmup up over the race from where I parked. So the legs were ready to go.

I settled into a nice pace and keep going. At one point I thought I might actually break 1:20 but realized at the 10k split that I wasn't quite at the pace I needed for that. My slowest miles were the 1st and 3rd miles with slow traffic and/or a steady low grade climb. This is where I also saw more team members. Our team leader was carrying his division flag - OUCH!!! He had it on a large, heavy looking poll. I don't know how he did it. Shortly after saying hi, I was under a long section of the Kennedy Center where the building hangs out over the road. I lost satellite connection and it messed up my watch time/distance.

The rest of the race went smoothly. It's amazing how quickly the time and miles went by. The crowds were great on the up and back section along Independence Ave. Once I made the left turn towards the 14th street bridge, I knew I was home free but in for a little pain. I think this is the hardest part of the course. Constant rollers running up and down on/off ramps and crossing the Potomac River. We even had to cross the Pentagon pedestrian bridge this year. One of my fastest miles was my last (7:50) which even I find surprising b/c I was tired and my cardio was giving out.

At the finish line, I had a new 10m PR by exactly 2 min and my fastest paced race at any distance other than a 5k. My watch had me a minute faster but I knew I had some watch problems (lost GPS) when I ran under bridges and buildings. I waited at the end for other team members. Once we all finished we got a nice group photo with some Reserve personnel.

I learned a lot from this race not so much the prep and taper since that was kind of out of my control. BUt I do understand how thoroughly exceeding the race distance in training makes holding a faster pace so much easier. I know that is kind of a DUH thing but there are different approaches to PRs and not all plans believe in that. So I learned that if I want to PR for Boston, I need to train like I am now for my 50 miler minus the few 6 and 7 hrs. run I have planned. But certainly 5-6 four to five hour runs would be good AND have enough training time to build endurance and get in speed work. So far in my various training for races, I've been able to hold an 8:15/8:20ish pace for 15-16 miles but I need to get strong enough to hold it together for 26 then I'll have my BQ time.
What would you do differently?:

Get some more sleep!
Post race
Warm down:

At the finish line, I hung out with my team. We finished 9th out of 39 teams. Pretty cool! After pictures, I ran back to Rosslyn. Got in a good 15m for the day.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of speed work

other note: female overall finish: 816/9645

Event comments:

Great race as long as you start in the first wave. Terribly crowded otherwise.




Last updated: 2011-08-23 12:00 AM
Running
01:22:24 | 10 miles | 08m 14s  min/mile
Age Group: 131/1752
Overall: 4370/21914
Performance: Good
8:34, 8:01, 8:23, 7:34, 8:02, 8:09, 8:09, 8:05, 8:14, 7:50
Course: mostly flat, few low grade hills and rollers at the end
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4