Healthy Kidney 10K - 5/16/09

This was a rainy one. As I was checking the forecast last night, it did not look like it was going to rain at all during the race, and it seemed like that was going to be the case as the race started. It was cloudy out, but no drizzle or rain of any kind. However, by the time I approached mile 2, the rain came down slowly, and by mile three it was a full fledged rain storm and we were all getting soaking wet. At least the temperature was relatively warm, and we didn't freeze our butts off. The only thing we had to contend with was sloshing around in wet socks and orthotics (as well as spotty glasses for me). I was just making sure not to slip and fall - mission accomplished. By the time mile 4 came around, the rain was over and all of us were able to finish the race without buckets of water falling on our heads.

I was able to get in a leisurely 3.6 mile run in before the race, in an effort to get my longer run in today, instead of doing it tomorrow. I wanted to avoid running a hard race on Saturday, and then still have to get in a 10 mile run in the next day. I usually perform better if I have a chance to squeeze in warm up, rather than starting a race off cold.

While I was able to score a PR today (ironically, my previous 10K PR was in this race last year), the pacing was all over the place and the constant change in speeds wore me out. I started out at a comfortable, but quick pace during the first mile (7:23), but allowed myself to speed up too much during the next two miles. This is what happens when I tell myself that I feel fine after mile one, and then pick up the pace too abruptly. I ran too fast through miles two and three at paces of 6:47 and 6:55, respectively and then realized that the hills on the northern and eastern parts of the parks were still ahead (especially the one at the 5K mark). It was not going to be pretty. I wasn't sure if it was a conscious decision, or hills the decided for me, but I slowed my pace down to about a 7:17 for the next two miles (I'll never know for sure what each mile was since I didn't push my lap button all the way after mile 4). The southern end of the park was a nice site to see, letting me know that this day was going to be over soon. While, I didn't feel that strong through the last 1.2 miles, I was able to run at a consistent stride and end the race feeling pretty good.

Mile Splits:

Mile 1: 7:24
Mile 2: 6:47
Mile 3: 6:55
Mile 4-5: 14:34 (avg of 7:17 - evidently I did not press down all the way after mile 4)
Last 1.2 miles: 8:43 (avg of 7:16)
Overall time: 44:23 ; Overall pace: 7:09

My overall time is based on my watch time (the NYRR listed my gun time on the website as 45:37). After the race, I checked the NYRR website for my "official" time, but saw that it wasn't posted. When I wrote to the NYRR and asked if there was a problem, they emailed me back and said that there were some technical problems at the end of the race that affected several runners. They were able to get my starting and 5K time, but not my finish time (I sent my watch time into them). If my overall time was only a second or two away from a PR, I wouldn't consider it official. However, since my time today was well ahead of my previous PR, I will use the time. Even if my watch was off by 3 or 4 seconds, I still would have had a PR of over 1:45 .