Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run - Run

Aim was to run at a fast pace but not redlining it, aiming for around or just below my HM target HR of 170-175. I was a little on the high side in the first mile, so eased back a little. And at 5:55 I didn't really want to be that fast anyway. Past the Lincoln Memorial, across the Potomac to Arlington National Cemetery and back, I was running fast but controlled. Let a few people pass me, including a guy wearing a full business suit. I didn't take kindly to that, but let him go. Passed 3 miles after running under the Kennedy Center - lost the GPS track, but the race clock at 5k suggested that I was right on 6:00 pace. Ok, that was good. Perhaps I could hold it together to get 61:00, which would qualify for a seeded entry next year. Back past the Lincoln Memorial and around the Tidal Basin, I seemed to be holding ok at 6:00 pace, passing 5 miles right around 30:00. That was good, faster than expected.

I was checking my HR, and it was never above the range that I was targeting, and sometimes below. So I didn't feel too bad about accelerating very slightly. The next 2.5 miles were going to be good, as we headed past the Jefferson Memorial and along Hains Point, as the breeze was behind us. I was pleasantly surprised to pass 10k in 37:10, which is my best 10k time since around 1990. My mental math was still focused on what I'd need to do to get 61;00. But then mile 7 came in at 5:46, and so I was getting to be a chunk under 6:00 pace. I thought about 60:00, but not too seriously. Right around the bottom of Hains Point I re-passed Suit Guy. Phew. The wind turned against us as we started north back towards the Washington Monument. I expected to slow a bunch, but I was actually feeling pretty good, and was picking off runners one by one. By 8 miles I realized that sub-60 was really in the cards, and by 9 miles I knew I had it in the bag. I knew that I wasn't flat out, as wasn't desperately counting down the miles and fractions of a mile. I was fairly comfortable running as I was. The last half mile went back past the Tidal Basin and climbed a slight rise - the uphill and the stiffest wind of the race made it harder than the rest, but by then I knew that the time would be good, and I didn't care about the details.

59:35 is easily a lifetime PR. I think I may have run 60:30 in '88 or '89, but I'm not sure. Apart from that, my recent PR was a 61:00 split during my recent HM. So I was quite happy with that. And incidentally it's ahead of the 59:57 PR of by brother Robin, who's my main rival in next week's marathon in London. Nice!

Nothing. I'll be able to tell you next week whether I should have slowed down.

I felt good right after finishing, and was able to jog through the finishing area and back towards the gear check area. Then after wrapping up warm, I jogged much of the way back to the metro station, enjoying the chilly but beautiful spring morning. The cherry blossoms were making a valiant effort to bloom, though they're a little behind, due to the cold winter. Feeling a little stiff, but not at all like I had run a full-out 10-13 mile race. Generally optimistic about next week. Now it's all about resting up. One moral of this experience: yet again, there's nothing like marathon training for getting faster times at shorter distances.


Very little.


Very nice organization for this classic event. I'm looking forward to doing it again next year.

One thing that I like about the race: the entry fee is kept lower by making various swag-features optional. No medal, no tech t-shirt, lower cost. And even the flyers etc in the typical race packet are now electronic. That plus the easy metro accessibility make it a nice low-impact race.