This is a 10K race that I ran last year and was looking to set a course PR if not a 10K PR. My course record is 1:00:00 exactly. My 10K PR is 57:48.
I was considering not running the race last night, but then I Twittered that I was going to run this morning, so I felt obligated to do so. I did not sleep well last night and did not hear my alarm this morning. Fortunately my wife heard it and threw a shoe at me.
When I got to the race start about 30 minutes before the gun. There were only 100 people registered. But there were well over 200 who ran the race in the end. The registration tables stayed hopping the whole time.
The kilometer markers were not very accurate. According to the times on my watch I ran one kilometer at 4:19 and another at 7:01. I may not be able to stay exactly on pace, but I know it was not that bad.
I ran the first half in 27:28. That meant I was on track for a 10K PR, but I did not know it at the time. Though I looked up what my 10K PR was last night, I did not remember the number when I went to run this morning. However, I did know I was on track for a course PR.
This was an out and back loop. I ran by my house (within 1/2 a block) 2.5 kilometers into the race. Then again at 7.5. My wife and daughter came out to cheer me on when I was on my way back down the course. Our daughter came out in her Sunday dress wearing my neon yellow swim goggles. Quite a sight.
At 9 kilometers I latched on to 2 other runners who were going just a bit faster than me. I hung on with one while we dropped the other. Speeding up the whole time. I was not able to hold on into the final kick, but I finished far better than I would have on my own.
Final time was 54:11. A new 10K PR! I ran a negative split with the second half being 26:43 (first half was 27:28). I had a pace of 8:44 per mile.
I think this was the first time my bib number was a palindrome.
Congrats on your PR! That’s great news! And I bet your daughter looked very cute. đŸ™‚
Thank you Nina. Yes she was very cute. She is still young enough to stand on the side of the road with 100 people running by while standing there wearing swim goggles.
Congratulations… you really blasted that old PR time of yours. That’s great! And a negative split to boot… aren’t you glad your wife throws shoes at you?
It was after this same race last year that I started feeling like I was a “lazy” runner. I had not been seeing an improvement in my times and I noted that at the end of the race last year that I really felt like I did not push very hard.
Since then I have started training for races instead of just running. I am not setting any world records, but I am getting better.