Marine Corps Marathon 10K - Run10k


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Arlington, Washington, D.C.
United States
40F / 4C
Sunny
Total Time = 51m 6s
Overall Rank = 457/3635
Age Group = F 30-34
Age Group Rank = 21/359
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 5 after not much sleep, had a Kashi waffle with PB and coffee. Went to get dressed and realized I forgot to pack my shorts. Great. I borrowed a pair from my sister but it threw off the whole look I was going for :)
Event warmup:

It was ridiculously freezing cold. We walked to the metro and froze on the platform. It was so good to get on the train. We got to the Pentagon really early and the metro station was like a wind tunnel so we all huddled in this little alcove. I was thankful the race shirt was enormous because I was able to pull it over my legs to keep warm. When I finally braved the outdoors, I walked/jogged a mile to warm up. I was so cold I could barely move.
Run
  • 51m 6s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 14s  min/mile
Comments:

The race started out incredibly crowded, it was difficult to find a place to run comfortably. This made the first mile feel pretty slow, although it turned out to be ok (8:46). I was able to speed it up to 8:15 on mile 2 and when I hit mile 3, I thought I was back to 8:45 until I looked closer and realized it was 7:45. I've never been able to run under 8 minutes for an entire mile so I was pretty excited.

Going into this race, I considered just jogging it and treating it as an easy training run given the marathon was a week out and I was under the weather. But hitting the sub-8 made me want to keep pushing so I went for it and maintained a sub-8 the rest of the race. I was thinking I might get under 51, but then I started up the steep hill at the finish (it's killer, I can't imagine what that feels like at the end of a marathon) and I just couldn't push any harder. I finished 1:10 faster than my previous 10K PR, but still can't beat my 10K time from the NYC Tri.

This was a really great race. Because it's bundled with the marathon, the expo is really good and the course support is phenomenal. It doesn't hurt that the entire thing from check-in to water stations to finish medals is staffed by hot marines. I'm starting to really love these military races :)

I also got to do this race with my sister on her 37th birthday. It was a really fun way to celebrate.
What would you do differently?:

Pack my running shorts!
Post race
Warm down:

I waited forever to try to spot my sister at the finish but right at the one-hour mark it turned into a mob scene. I walked what felt like a mile to the baggage truck to get a warm shirt, then browsed the finish festival and loaded up on free snacks. There was a beer garden that was a little tempting until I saw it was in the shade and it was still only in the low 40s. I decided to wait until later for my beer.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My cold made me hack the entire time, but didn't seem to slow me down. I also had a bit to drink on Saturday for my sister's b-day (my apologies to anyone I may have texted during the hours of 2 and 9 pm) but that didn't seem to have much of an impact either. I was really happy with this race.

Event comments:

Another great race in DC. If it fits in the schedule, I'll be back in '09.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-08-09 12:00 AM
Running
00:51:06 | 06.21 miles | 08m 14s  min/mile
Age Group: 21/359
Overall: 457/3635
Performance: Good
Course: Start near the Pentagon and follow the end of the MCM course, finish at the MCM finish. The final .2 miles is all uphill.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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