George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler - Run10 Mile


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Alexandria, Virginia
United States
Pacers Store
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 20m 56s
Overall Rank = 586/3013
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 78/220
Pre-race routine:

Up at about 4.45 (race started at 8). Small cup of coffee and one piece of toast with jam and almond butter.
Event warmup:

Easy jog for 1.5 miles, stretching, one gel and a cup of water about 15 minutes before race start.
Run
  • 1h 20m 56s
  • 10 miles
  • 08m 05s  min/mile
Post race
Warm down:

The wind off the river meant that I was cooling down really quickly, so we didn't stick around. I took Endurox, pulled on a sweatshirt and we walked back to the car. A warm-down run would have been nice but we needed to drop people off. Had a good stretch session once we got home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I was reasonably close to the front, but probably not close enough since there were all kinds of really slow people around me; the race starts off pretty tight and confined and took about half a minute to open up. So the downhill first mile could have been even faster. And I wanted to run a little faster and try and break 1 hour 20. But technically I ran the race well: I was consistent, I ran a negative split, had plenty left to really pick it up in the final mile. . .so I don't know. I could possibly have run faster in the early miles, but my HR was telling me otherwise; and maybe that would have compromised my performance at the end of the race.

Event comments:

A lot more people this year (the race sold out) but still quite small by comparison with races like Cherry Blossom. Still a gorgeous course, and the day was perfect for racing: overcast, with a slight drizzle at a couple of points.

Improved on last year's time by almost 5 minutes, so I'm very happy.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-04-27 12:00 AM
Running
01:20:56 | 10 miles | 08m 05s  min/mile
Age Group: 78/220
Overall: 586/3013
Performance: Good
Average HR: 161; Max 175 7:59 (152); 8:16 (158); 8:12 (160); 8:15 (163); 8:16 (161); 8:14 (159); 8:19 (161); 8:04 (162); 7:58 (166); 7:20 (169).
Course: Starting at Mount Vernon, coming back down the GW parkway into Alexandria. Steep downhill at the start, then rolling but trending downhill until mile 6-7 which were almost completely downhill. Climbing over the 495, a small downhill, then a sharp uphill before you turned into the finishing street.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 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] 5