General Discussion Race Reports! » Sole of the City 10K Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Sole of the City 10K - Run


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Baltimore, Maryland
United States
www.charmcityrun.com
50F / 10C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 00m 1s
Overall Rank = 914/2164
Age Group = M 50-59
Age Group Rank = 60/122
Pre-race routine:

I'm in the middle of a run-focused sprint tri plan, looking to qualify for AGN the first weekend in June. My daughter has been doing a ton of running and signed up for this race, and since I'm finally in a position to be able to race a 10K I though I'd run with her and pace her to so she could PR.

I had a really good run month in March leading up to it so unlike my recent 10Ks in Olympic tris I' m only slightly under-trained for the race instead of criminally under-trained so I was kind of excited to run a decent 10K race.

I had a good taper (actually kind of two weeks of taper unintentionally because of work) so I'm fresh.

This is one of Charm City Run's signature races....a little over 2,000 people running through the Inner Harbor and through Butcher's Hill, Patterson Park, Canton, and Fells Point. I ran a 46:23 in the race 10 years ago LOL - I could probably hold that pace for the first mile maybe. "The Plan" was to go out a little over 9-minute pace and try to negative split, though there is one big hill for mile 4 that might make that a bit difficult but we figured the downhill two miles afterwards would help make that up.


Event warmup:

Went to bed early and my alarm woke me up at the prescribed 5 AM time. I need lots of warm up so I went down to the Pain Cave and did about 20 minutes of loosening up on the bike, then stretching and foam roller before having a zone bar, apple and coffee around 5:30. We gathered up the troops including The Sherpa (wife) and headed down a little after 7 AM. Parked in the Little Italy garage and walked the half mile or so to the starting area.

Super well-run, tons of porta-potties (like 30 of them) and constant instructions on the loudspeakers. Kell and I started by doing a 10 minute WU routine building to to pace with a couple of sprints then I stretched for another 10 minutes or so. Weather is beautiful...sunny and 50-ish but a little windy.

Took a minute to look east from the harbor where the Key Bridge used to be - really missed on the view out towards Fort McHenry. The announcer requested a moment of silence for the workers killed in the tragedy, then we had the national anthem complete with a yelling "O" during the final verse.

Took a moment to relax for a minute and take in the vibe, and feel the gratitude for being able to do this after so much of my body giving me a hard time the past 15 years.

Fist bump with the daughter and off we go!
Run
  • 1h 00m 1s
  • 10 kms
  • 06m  min/km
Comments:

Mile 1 - "Watch The Cones!!"

So we started off and decided to hang with the 9:30 pace group for a bit so we don't go out too fast - it was pretty crowded to start so eased into it keep the 9:30 sign about 50 yards ahead of us . With it being so close together I didn't notice the upcoming traffic cones and almost bit it trying to avoid one. My daughter called me an idiot. :-) 9:08 first mile, right on pace. My HR is in zone 2 so this is feeling pretty easy for me.

Mile 2 - "Navigating the Harbor"

As noted above, we get to run through the Promenade on the Inner Harbor - it's great but it's also technical so we spent the second mile trying to nail the tangents and not run over anybody as we're creeping forward past the 9:30 pace group (who evidently went out a little quick). There's a short hill coming out of the Promenade past Rash Field and onto Key Highway so I reminded Kell "quick feet and scamper" up the hill. Short downhill to open the stride and relax. I feel fantastic but she's pushing a little but feeling OK. 9:07 second mile split.

Mile 3 - "False Flats and the Wheels Loosen"

Walked the aid station and downed a little water. Now we're on a relatively flat section with a bunch of false flats but no overall elevation changes. Kell is starting to struggle a bit holding the pace but she's pushing through. I reminded her this was her 5K PR like a year ago so she's doing great. As we approach mile 3 I hear her really struggling to breathe - she's a competitive swimmer so it's been tough for her to learn how to run breathe (anytime you want!!). As we hit mile 3 she needs to stop a second. No issue from me, we have a big hill coming up anyway. 9:16 split

Mile 4 - "Soul-Sucking Hill"

Now the meat of the course, a mile long uphill to Patterson Park. We ease up the pace a little bit to the low 10s and now poor little thing is really having a time of it. I keep positively pushing her along as we get passed by the 9:30 group about halfway up. My HR gets up to high Z3 as we climb. We get to the top and another aid station so we walk a little bit longer this time. Now we have a big downhill coming up so I convince her to just start jogging, relax and open the stride and see what happens. We pass mile 4 with a 10:35 split...55-flat is now in no way in hell territory, but if we can regain the 9 minute pace we can come in like 58 or so.

Mile 5 - "More Uphill??"

Mile 5 snakes through Patterson Park, a long downhill which felt great and we held sub-9 without too much problem, but then we have to climb back up some hill before exiting the park and this is where it started to come apart. We're barely holding 10-flat now and she wants me to go on without her. Oh hell no - we're going to finish tough. 9:42 split

Mile 6 - "Kinda Done at This Point"

We get to the final crest and now we have almost a half mile of downhill before start the flat straightaway down Fleet Street to the finish area. The downhill helps, but she can't get much below 10-minute pace at this point. That's OK - we'll just finish at this pace. I'm now really pacing her about 2-3 strides ahead of her and she's doing everything she can to hang. My legs are starting to finally feel a little heavy so I'm also feeling happy this is just about over. We're also running into a 15-20 mph headwind at this point.

The Finish - "Oh, So You're THAT Guy"

You know "that guy" who always jogs a local race and sprints the finish? Well that was me today. We turn the corner with a 1/4 mile to go and I ask her if she has a kick left in her and she gives me that "WTF is wrong with you?" look so I tell her I'm going to kick and break an hour. I then pick up the pace and start blowing by people. With about 100 yards to go it slopes up and we get a massive headwind and I'm in basically what passes for a sprint for me, still blowing by people. I cross the line at 1 hour and 1 second. UGH Kell finished about 25 seconds behind me - tough 2nd half of the race for her but she pushed through it for a still-decent time within a couple of minutes of her PR.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing - not sure if going a little slower out the gate would have made a difference. Great training run for me.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and stretched, then walked back to the car. Later in the day hit the hot tub. Woke up the next day pretty sore but not bad.

Event comments:

Top-notch race by Charm City Run - great SWAG and post-race festivities and such a cool vibe. I've already signed up for next year. :-)




Last updated: 2024-02-20 12:00 AM
Running
01:00:01 | 10 kms | 06m  min/km
Age Group: 914/122
Overall: 60/2164
Performance: Good
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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

{postbutton}
2024-04-08 9:01 AM

User image

Expert
4928
2000200050010010010010025
Middle River, Maryland
Silver member
Subject: Sole of the City 10K


2024-04-08 3:19 PM
in reply to: #5288350

User image


1943
100050010010010010025
, Kronobergs lan
Subject: RE: Sole of the City 10K
Great read, as usual

My favourite bit is this “ she's a competitive swimmer so it's been tough for her to learn how to run breathe (anytime you want!!)”
Oh, yeah, must be really difficult, all that air! LOL

2024-04-08 4:46 PM
in reply to: #5288350

User image

Regular
1781
1000500100100252525
Auckland, North Island
Subject: RE: Sole of the City 10K
Great Job
2024-04-09 8:16 AM
in reply to: #5288350

User image

Master
2490
2000100100100100252525
Atlanta, Georgia
Silver member
Subject: RE: Sole of the City 10K
Well done!

I've been getting to do some running with my adult kids the last six months..best and favorite part of this hobby
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Sole of the City 10K Rss Feed  
RELATED POSTS

Asics London 10k

Started by po
Views: 475 Posts: 1

2023-07-09 3:10 PM po

Music City Aquabike

Started by crusty
Views: 395 Posts: 1

2023-06-05 4:44 PM crusty

Granby 10K Road Race

Started by dtoce
Views: 666 Posts: 2

2023-05-07 6:21 AM alltom1