Irish Sprint 10K - Run10k


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Quantico, Virginia
United States
MCM Series
60F / 16C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 1h 10m 56s
Overall Rank = 1268/1703
Age Group = M50-54
Age Group Rank = 87/111
Pre-race routine:

Drove down in the morning. Typical PB Muff and some coffee and water. Caught the shuttle bus at the commuter center and a short ride and packet pickup line later, I had my bib.
Event warmup:

Walked around a bit. Waited for the start. Felt slightly queesy though.
Run
  • 1h 10m 56s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 11m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

Started out with what I thought was a conservative pace given that I knew the first 3 miles would be net uphill by a couple hundred feet. First time running on a this kind of trail, being very careful to watch my footing. As far as trails go, I wouldn't think that this was not either too narrow, or rocky, but new to me. It was fairly wide (always enough for 2-3 runners minimum), with some small embeded rocks and roots, but not really bad at all. I think around mile 2 I started to feel this wasn't going to be a good running day for me. I had no legs at all for climbing anymore, my glasses were fogging, and I succumbed to walking parts of the hill between miles 2-3. Crested the hill, and enjoyed the nice descent for the next 3 miles, but fogging glasses and worrying about my footing on the trail, restricted my pace. Even on the pavement, I just wasn't hitting the usual running grove. The suspension bridge was crazy fun running over it and it bouncing madly up and down from the other runners. I wanted to go back and do it again! After mile 4, I knew this was going to be a long, slow run, so I began to just enjoy the woods, the lovely morning, some tunes, and the final cruel trick the MCM Events seem to love - a steep finish to the end.
What would you do differently?:

Be a lot lighter. Don't think I would have paced myself any differently. I think it was one of those "1 in 3 bad days" you have running sometimes.
Post race
Warm down:

Picked up my golden ticket. Had some water, gatorade, and chicken soup. Had some Green Mich Ultra - ick.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Weight, and leg strength seems to be lacking this year. I think I would have warmed up more next time given that right out of the chute, you have a 3 mile climb. Even more hill work and repeats.

Event comments:

MCM here I come? I've got a lot to do in the next 7 months.
I really liked this course Challenging, and I want to come back and do it again - better!

I was really surprised I wasn't last in my age group, and even placed at near the 75th percential overall and in my age group. Guess a lot of the other mortals found the hills challenging as well. On the paved sections, the roads were very curvey, and very few people sighted the straightest line possible. Look up people!

Saw that Sam from my agency finished first in my age group. Way to go! Wish I would have seen him.




Last updated: 2012-01-19 12:00 AM
Running
01:10:56 | 06.21 miles | 11m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 87/111
Overall: 1268/1703
Performance: Below average
Course: Starts out with a slight downhill, and then the next 3 miles are 220 feet net gain in elevation over 6 rises, on both pavement, trail, and boardwalk. At the halfway point, nice gradual downhill, over a suspension bridge, and up 100 foot climb over the final 1/4 mile.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5