More Rust Off

For the second straight week, I have raced.  For the second straight week, I have PRed.  The 4 mile PR two weeks ago was a bit soft from several years ago; however, the most recent 10k PR was from last year’s race.  This year, I bettered that PR by :27.  Coming into the race, I thought I might be able to handle 38:10-38:30.

As I mentioned last week, following the 4 miler, I felt really strong (btw in 2010, I ran more miles than I ever had), just not that sharp/fast.  Prior to the 10k, I made up my mind that I would go out at my most recent 4 mile race pace and see what happens.  Again, this most recent 4 miler was the previous week.  Was I setting myself up for some big blowup?

This 10k race is somewhat special to me in that it was my first race back following an 18 year hiatus from running.  As I recall, I ran 43 something that year in 2003.  I have raced this 10k every year since.  I also like the race because they have a sweetheart division.  My wife is usually not competitive; however, for this race she always wants to run fast to help our cause ($50 gift card for Outback).  Last year, we won it and she had her sights setting on repeating.  She’s now training for triathlons, so her running has decreased, but she is doing much more cross training.  Prior to the race, I heard every running excuse there was for her “possibly” not running well today.

This race is well organized, etc., but the mile markers are always a bit off.  According to the markers, I had a fast mile of 5:49 (1st mile) and a slow mile of 6:33 (4th mile).  A teammate of mine on the Pilgrimage Track Club commented that I consistently maintained low 6′s throughout.  Nearing the 5 mile mark, the top 3 places had been decided, but I was still in a tussle for 4th.  At 2.5 miles, I was passed by a younger man and always kept him within 15-20 meters of me.  I had decided not to go with him, as I was fearing that blowup that I previously wrote about.  By 5.5 miles, I had closed the gap, as he seemed to swing wide on turns and obviously never did well in geometry.  Me, I ran the tangents on every turn.  I was hurting by 6 miles and made every effort to catch him, but to no avail.  He crossed the line :04 ticks a head of me.  I PRed by :27 in the course of one year and I was quite happy with the time of 37:48.

I immediately went back to cheer for my wife.  I was just beaten by :04 seconds and he was in our sweetheart division.  I spoke to him afterwards and he estimated that his teammate would come in around 45 minutes.  As I ran back to the 6 mile marker, I saw my wife, but also saw a female 10 meters in front of her.  It was her!  The guy that just beat me had his sweetheart of a teammate running steps ahead of my wife.  I “encouraged” my wife loudly and she pushed and pushed.  In the end, the two finishers that came in just before me and my wife beat us.  We lost our evening out at Outback by a mere :09 seconds!  In the process though, my wife, who gave every excuse out there about a possible dismal performance, ran a 1 minute PR from last year’s race.  I’m quite proud of us both!

Hopeful to continue this PR binge!

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