29 something?!

Homecoming Scotland Day 10K Race Report

No, not hardly. That was the, not mine, winning time of the day. And if you know me enough to know that I’m just being snarky when I say that wasn’t my time, you’ll also most likely realize the true undercurrent of how impressed I am by that winning finish from Saturday’s race. Saturday very much put things into perspective for me, and the absolute power and speed of some these guys and gals have out there. Not to mention, a (re)newed appreciation even amongst my fellow corral members who spoke casually before the gun went off of sub 6 targets.

I suppose, last week’s 15K changed everything for me, where once a sub 7 seemed an impossibility, and the effort it took to accomplish such, compared to the winning time of the day like my time compared to those crossing the line with an approximate 8:20 pace. This is not ego, no, this is awe. For instance, if 8:20 is teetering on not even my long run pace border, but a recovery run pace, does that mean these guys crank out their easy runs at a leisurely 6:30? That’s amazing. I ask these questions somewhat rhetorically, as I very well knew this before, but perspective somehow always changes everything.

That being said, Saturday brought Michelle and I to Central Park for her first race of the season. (One which she did awesome with, with a personal best 8:11!) It was an amazingly beautiful day, with temps well into the 50’s and full sunshine by the time we were lining up. The turnout this week nearly quadrupled last Sunday’s race, topping out near 8,000 people, which also had something to do with the nice weather I would imagine. All and all the energy was definitely heightened and we were immediately charged as a result.

After a short pit stop at my office to drop our gear, we headed over to the park around 9:20, which left us with just enough time for a super easy 2 mile warm-up on the cushy bridal paths followed by some light stretching. All in all by the time we were called to corral, we were jazzed and ready to go. My corral, being the first, left Michelle and I parting around 10 minutes to the gun (which happened to be just enough time to find here way back to her start position!).

There was definitely a whole different breed of racers out Saturday as we herded in like cattle waiting for the start. Not just in shear volume, but intensity. Don’t get me wrong, in general the comradery amongst runners is great, but the scent of serious competition was in the air (I think blood was there too). I never imagined myself in with the likes of some of those around me, but as I’m quickly discovering as I did with bike racing, one of the quickest ways to get faster is to run (ride) with people who will undoubtedly smoke your ass. Yep, there were more than their share this time around knocking shoulders with me who could, and would, do just that.

The gun went off right on time, and after the usual awkward shuffling as we all started kicking it over, it was go time. Make no doubt about it, the shorter the races get, the faster the field tends to get. Saturday was no exception. I quickly found myself getting carried away with initial pacing around 5:45. I also knew that that kind of effort would blow me up at no more than 5K, so I dialed it down a notch. However one of the best parts of racing with people that will most certainly kick your ass, is that only they have the key to opening that little bit of reserve you can never quite tap into running solo. The trick is finding someone that will only slightly kick your ass, and then hang on, i.e., the golden carrot.

The race took us on a full reverse loop of the park. Central Park racing is still somewhat new to me, so I can’t say I know what to expect, but truthfully I almost prefer it in running races, especially short course. There isn’t much to go into detail from here on out, as after I found my pace, and those that I would stick with, all that remained was the execution through the remaining miles. I did however manage to take some notes along the way, mainly with hill strategy. That and some adequate suffering rounded out the day.

I finished sub 40, and although my Garmin had my unofficial time at 6:19, I ended up with a 6:23 official. I was initially a little disappointed to be honest, hoping for 6:20 or less, but I’ll take it. I have to remember, above all, to be thankful just to be able to be out there enjoying myself. After downing some Gatorade, I managed to stand by and pick Michelle out as she came into the finish. We followed it up with some light stretching, downed some carbs, and ended the morning with a 1-2 mile cool down as we wound our way back to my office.

An awesome day in so many ways: 39:42, 6:23 Pace, 74/685 AG, beautiful weather, and lil’ Midge.