Date of Race: 02/26/2011
Total Time = 0h 47m 06s
Overall Place = 214
Age Group = Male 40-44
Age Group Place = 39/94
Been meaning to post this race report. Not much of one for a 10k, but a great race nonetheless. I had the best race ever (at least until now). I knew I was going to PR, but I wasn't sure by how much. I was hoping for something around the 50 minute mark. Last year I got 52:53. If I could take 2-3 minutes off my time, I would be extremely pleased. Let's just say I'm still surprised by my 47 minute time.
The race started out really quick. I lined up towards the front with a few Atlanta Triathlon Club members that were also racing. We took off really quick and i knew I wouldn't be able to hold that pace. I think it was just under 7 minute/mile pace. I dialed it back, but not much. As we approached the 1st mile marker, the course clock showed 7:00. I got worried that I'd burn out and fade if I didn't slow down. Mile marker 2 showed 14:15, so I slowed my pace to 7:15 but that was still too fast in my mind. I felt good, but it wasn't easy. It was definitely a hard effort.
My heart rate was hovering around 170 bpm. That's 6 beats over my LT. The rule is that for an hour race, you should be able to go LT+10 or your Functional Threshold. In theory I could run this race at 174 bpm or even a bit higher and be completely spent crossing the finish line. That's the race strategy for sprint type races.
I figured that as long as I can hold this pace and maintain this heart rate, I'd be okay. As each mile marker went by, my pace slowed down a little bit. I knew at this point if I ran a 8:00 mile pace I'd finish under 50 minutes. As I crossed the 5 mile mark the clock read 38:?? minutes. If I ran a 10 minute pace, I'd finish just over 48 minutes and that made me feel great. The last quarter mile has some small rolling hills and I needed to save a little if I wanted to push through those rollers. I was already spent and was happy to cross under 50 minutes. I knew that if I wanted to be seeded higher for the Peachtree Road Race, I'd have to come under 47:59 and now that was a goal. As I got closer to the finish, I saw the clock read 46:50 and I pushed even harder. The goal now was to push to under 47:00. I didn't make it, but extremely pleased with my time of 47:06. The competitive part of me, wishes I could have been :07 seconds faster. When looking back, I took 5:47 off my time from last year and that in itself is a huge improvement. I haven't even been running as often as I should be, only 2 days a week and the occasional 3rd if I can find the time. The runs I have been doing have certainly been quality runs. Tuesday nights have all been hills and some intervals thrown in for a hard workout. This really gets me excited for my half marathon coming up. I'm anxious to find out how much time I can take off from last year's time. I just need to race smart. There's no way I'm going to keep up a 7:35 minute/mile pace over 13 miles, but if I can keep it to under 8:40 pace, I'll end up with a new PR. Hard work pays off.
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