George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler - Run10 Mile

I had three goals for this race: 1) finish, 2) run under 9 minutes, and 3) achieve a negative split. I divided the race up into three parts: miles 1 through 5, miles 6-8, and the final two miles, and I ran each segment, in general, how I wanted to. The hardest part for me was the long steady climb through mile 9 coming in to the outskirts of Alexandra, topping out at the rise over the 495. The short hill on Franklin I found much easier and passed a lot of people there.

This was an an early season fitness test for me (given that my season started late) so I'm pleased with my training progress to date.

Aerobically I felt excellent throughout, and really began to feel good halfway through. Even at the end with the fast last mile I didn't feel I was maxing out aerobically (and HR data supports that). But muscle-wise I was tired and couldn't have pushed myself much more I don't think.

Miles 2 through 5 were a little bit slower than I would have liked but since I didn't have a good sense of my fitness level I was reluctant to push it. I had planned to push it a little more on mile 9 as well but hadn't counted on the hill.

Brisk walking, stretching.


Haven't had as much training time as I did last year due to a long overseas trip. Felt it in terms of my muscle conditioning.


This is an excellent event, very beautiful, lots of spots for spectators along the way, and not as easy as everyone makes it out to be!