Memorial to the victims at Virginia Tech

Get your tissues out:

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Ashland Railroad Run 10K

So it's been a while since I posted, but fully recovered from the Monument Avenue 10K and have run a few times since. I ran a brief two miles on the treadmill on the Monday following the 10K, then with the group for 3 miles on Wednesday, then again on Saturday for another 4 miles. One week until Ashland.

This week, I again ran on the treadmill on Monday -- for my 3 mile recovery run. Wednesday was a short 2 miler with just Bob. We kept up a faster pace than normal, but knowing it was only two miles made it go by very quickly. Later on Wednesday, I picked up my race packet for Ashland along with a great tee shirt. The Monument Ave. 10K could learn from Ashland in this one aspect - not the boring white shirt you see everywhere.

Yesterday, I set a new PB with the 10K. Not much of an improvement, but chipping it off a bit at a time. This was not a chip race, so everyone was presumed to start at the same time. It was actually about 5 seconds until I crossed the start line, so my reported time of 1:05:22 was probably 5 seconds slow (presume 1:05:17). Not much of a difference, but some. Anyway, at 1:05:22, it was a 10:31 pace for the race. At the actual time, it was a 10:30 pace exactly - my goal.

Bob took off faster than the rest, and ended really strong based on where I saw him on the final turnaround. I ran mostly with Sarah and Qiana - and we ended within one second of each other (Qiana and I crossed the finish line together).

Did you learn from this?
1. Started slower -- good thing
2. Ate a bagel with PB -- good thing - had no empty stomach...
3. Watched the watch -- but only because of the fact that there weren't markings that I saw for the mileage. I was right on time for 10:30 miles at the 5 mile mark.
4. Mile 6 is the hardest -- find a way to do better here... maybe longer runs ahead of time - more than one 6 miler in the preceding weeks.
5. Running with someone helps -- I was ready to give up (walk) earlier but didn't.

Things to do different next time:
1. Don't spend the entire day beforehand spreading mulch -- my legs were definitely not at their best because of that, and my arms were stiff as anything.
2. Leave earlier -- while I knew I was on time, I was unsure of parking and how long it would take.

All in all, a PR is a PR. Just keep the numbers heading down!

Monument Avenue 10K - post race report

Well, the race went fairly well. My 5K split time was 31:57, which should equate to a total of 1:03:54 (10:17 pace). I slowed a bit during the second 5K and ended at 1:05:37. That was still a 10:33 mile pace, not far behind my normal pace of 10:30. I was out of energy during the 5th mile, and the 6th was no picnic, either. So, I've decided to capture some lessons learned and things to try next time.

Lessons learned:
1. Eat more -- I had a bowl of cereal at 6:30, and our wave started at 9:05. By 9:30, I had no energy in reserve.
2. Start slower -- I should have paced myself in the first mile or two slower. I was feeling good, so let my legs get ahead of my head.
3. 6.2 miles is a long time to not have someone to help you keep an even pace or to keep your straight.

Things to try:
1. Eat a bagel with peanut butter -- carbs and protein, a great combination. Maybe a whole wheat bagel to make it a bit healthier.
2. Watch the watch -- keep at the correct pace starting at mile 2. Expect that the first mile will be slower than the expected / average pace, and that you will make it up slowly as the race progresses.
3. Find someone to run with. 6.2 miles is a long time to be running without a partner to slow you down, speed you up, keep you going.

Next, the Ashland Railroad Run 10K in just two weeks.