Race Report - Last Chance For Boston 10K

Well, how about that? An impromptu sign-up for a distance I've never run before, and it turns into my best placing ever in a running race!

Things started off with a 5:45 wake up call. Unfortunately, Meredith was still feeling sick, so it was just me. I wasn't very excited about heading off into the cold, but I didn't really have any excuse not to go. So, I packed up about 4 different combinations of clothes, not knowing how cold it would really be. Got my number picked up, and I headed out to the course. Before the race, I had 30 minutes of easy warm up to get in. Easy was the key word, as I didn't quite even get in three miles.

Before I knew it, it was time to line up. This race has a full marathon, half marathon, 10K, and 5K, and the course is a one mile loop (plus a 0.2 or 0.1 mile spur at the start). The 10K and marathon start together, so I was lined up with Andrea and Helen, who were both doing the marathon, for the start. As much as I wanted to try and hang with them, I knew I needed to stick to the plan and not go out too hard. I even turned my Garmin to only show heart rate so I wouldn't constantly be checking my pace; instead, I'd concentrate on keeping my heart rate in the right zones.

And for the first lap, I did just that. I kept my legs in check, and my heart rate was nicely settled into zone 2. When the Garmin clicked off the first mile, it was around an 8:20 pace. Whoa! Nothing wrong with that. Since things were feeling good, I decided to just hold my pace and see how it went. And though it doesn't make for an interesting race report, I did just that. My fastest and slowest miles were only separated by 28 seconds, which I'm not sure I've ever done before. My heart rate did keep creeping up on me, though. By lap 2 or 3, it was parked in zone 3, and I had to ease up just a couple times. On the last lap, I finally gave myself permission to run a little harder, and went all out with about 1/4 mile remaining. That turned into my fastest mile, an 8:12. I crossed the finish line, and surprise, surprise, I was in the top 20 men!


Post race, there wasn't time to rest. I still had another 27 minutes of cool down. Three more loops around the course, and I could call it a day...until I had to hop on my bike later. :)

Mile 1 (+.2): 10:28
Mile 2: 8:38
Mile 3: 8:40
Mile 4: 8:37
Mile 5: 8:32
Mile 6: 8:12

Total: 53:05 (8:32/mi)
7/30 Men
9/74 Overall