Wounded Warrior 10K - Run10k


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Las Colinas, Texas
United States
Dallas Athletes Racing
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 45m 1s
Overall Rank = 20/1173
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 2/74
Pre-race routine:

This is not an "A" race for me so instead of resting up like I typically do the day before a race - I did my first bike rally - 62 miles in the Collin Classic. I did take it easy (averaging 18mph vs the usual 20+), but it was a day in the heat.

On race day - woke up at 5:20am, then drove over to Las Colinas. Temps were already higher than forecasted as it was 76F at 6am when we left the house. Grabbed some Powerbar Gels and ate it on the way. Hit the porta-john right before the race.
Event warmup:

Not much of a warm-up as we got there later than expected (6:45am) for a 7:15am start for the 10K. It was running a bit behind so got to do about half a mile of jogging and a couple of strides. It was pretty warm so the sweat got going pretty quick.
Run
  • 45m 1s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 15s  min/mile
Comments:

This was not an "A" race so I didn't bother really tapering for it. In fact, I ran a short Tempo run Friday night plus a swim, followed by a 62-mile bike ride in the hot sun (Collin Classic) yesterday. Basically, I knew I would feel a bit tired but it's good since the next time I am likely racing 10K would be at the US Open Olympic Tri.
The biggest issue I had with the race was that the half-marathon was started only 10 minutes ahead of the 10K - which meant that we would catch the half-marathon walkers within half a mile, and then spend the rest of the time getting around and through them for the rest of the race. The paths were pretty narrow (but shaded!) so people walking 5-6 wide made it a challenge. The 5K turn-around point didn't help much as it meant another 2 miles of going against traffic (the walkers and slow runners of the half-marathon, as well as the other 10K people heading for the turn-around, and then finally, the 10K walkers). A few marshalls/volunteers on the path would have helped keep the people going one way and walking on one side - they're not really racing at that point so if they just stayed out of the way, it would be nice.
I am also glad I raced this the way I did, as the last 3 passes I did were all in my AG and were for overall position. I finished 20th and 21-24 were all about 13-20 seconds behind me. I completed the last past for what turned out to be 2nd about half a mile from the finish! I then went for a hard kick (6:11 pace for last 0.4 mile) to make sure that anyone who wanted to pass me would have to be running sub-6:00 pace
What would you do differently?:

As for me, if I wanted a little bit better performance, I would've rested yesterday. Maybe that was worth 30 sec to a minute but otherwise, I felt good about my time as well as my results (2nd out of 74 in my AG and 20th/1173 overall). I also had a 7:55 half-mile split around 4.5 miles in when I couldn't get my electrolyte pills out of the container and walked 3-4 steps to get it. Broke my rhythm and in retrospect, I probably should've taken one at the 5K mark as I started getting side stitches about 4 miles in.

Post race
Warm down:

When I crossed the finish line, I was feeling a bit faint so just stood there bent over for about 30 seconds. Finally was able to move and got water, my finisher medal and started walking. Did a short jog then found the free massage and had them work on my hamstrings.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

More training - especially some quality/speed training as well as a good rest before the race as I came in tired.

Event comments:

Considering that about 1200 people were doing the 10K and probably about another 1500+ doing the half-marathon, it would've been nice to have volunteers on the course reminding walkers and slower folks (especially the half-marathon) to stay right. 10K races are fought within seconds so all the dodging and slowing up to get around walkers and joggers that are doing the half-marathon on a narrow path wasn't great.




Last updated: 2012-06-05 12:00 AM
Running
00:45:01 | 06.21 miles | 07m 15s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/74
Overall: 20/1173
Performance: Average
Course: out and back with about 60% shaded paths in Las Colinas. Fairly flat but most of the path was pretty narrow especially since it was filled with walkers from half-marathon before the 10K people even got there.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3