The good news from today: I have the desire to race again. I've got that fire, that edge, whatever you wanna call it. I haven't had it in a race over 400 meters since VCI my junior year, which was September 5, 2007. That feeling of strength and invincibility leading up to and during a race is an essential piece that I've been missing--and now its back.
I had no nervous thoughts as I came to the line. Seeing all of the fast runners that were sure to finish minutes ahead of me pumped me up rather than discouraging me. When the gun went off I knew I was running faster than the prescribed 5:29/mile but I didn't care. It felt good and I know that I'm fit enough to go out a little fast and not suffer. When I crossed the first mile in 5:22, which felt like a jog, I wanted to yell. I wanted to let out all of the adrenaline that I had in me. I was fearless. But instead, I waited patiently and kept on rolling.
In the second mile I began to run with MCRRC guy Dave Haaga. I went back and forth with him at the St. Patrick's Day 8k and we worked off each other well for the second and third miles of this race. A few others joined our pack along the way. I went through mile 2 in 5:27 (10:49) and mile 3 in 5:31 (16:21). At this point we had a group of about 5 or 6 guys. We hit 5k in 16:56, and this is where I started to lose focus a bit, right on the hill after Wootton Parkway. I fell off and ran solo, trying to catch back up, for the next two miles. These were by far the toughest of the race, but I dug in and chipped away slowly. I ran a 5:33 (21:55) followed by a 5:35 (27:31). I caught them right as we hit five miles--the race was on.
The pack had added a few stragglers that had fallen back, and we chugged along with different guys cycling through and pushing the pace almost constantly. I am a bit disappointed with this mile--I think I should have pushed harder and gone earlier. Two guys took off with about half a mile to go, but I just couldn't switch gears. I needed to move with them. I now fully understand Jo's comment about it being hard to switch gears and kick in a 10k because its such a rhythm race. If I did something right today--it was sticking on a fairly even pace. If I did anything wrong it was my inability to switch gears and cover big moves, both at 5k and 9k.
With that said, I hit 6 miles in 5:34 (33:05) but just didn't have enough left to make a bid for sub-34. But I got close. I ran the last 0.2 miles in 57 seconds and finished up at 34:02 (5:29/mi) which I really can't be upset with as I PR'd by 2:01 (although my former PR is nothing short of laughable). But--I know there will be faster times in my future. This is just the beginning.
Hopefully I'll get some photos soon. Race results (that finish at the front must have been quite something): http://www.pikespeek10k.com/results/10pp10k-m.htm
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