Skip to main content

Two 10 miler Race Recaps

This month (a month after completing my first marathon) I had signed up for two 10 mile races.  The first of which, the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, I had entered the lottery for the past 2 years and finally was selected this year! I had been kinda struggling to get back to my regular pace running after the marathon so didn't have high expectations about finishing very quickly. So, I went into it with the attitude of, if I felt good on race day I would go for it and push myself, if not, then just enjoy it with my friends. 
It is a large race (not as crowded as the Army 10 miler, but very large) and I was not prepared for all of the weaving I would be doing for most of the race.  (Next time I will be sure to get in the front of my pace corrale.)  I ran it with a few of my BLUR buddies - 2 of which started with me.  We quickly realized it was nearly impossible to stay together after going through the water stations. I wasn't carrying water on me so basically was stopping at all of the stations.  After the 2nd station of slamming water and then trying to find my friends I finally just gave up on that part. Plus, I was feeling strong and just wanted to keep my momentum going so ended up running solo for most of the race. I felt like I may be able to PR!  However, like I mentioned there was a LOT of weaving around people. (I think my stats showed in the end that I literally passed 1,000's of people!) Therefore, I ended up just one minute shy of my last PR.  However, it was a really nice race. Beautiful day and the cherry blossoms were actually blooming, which, according to my friends who have run it multiple times, NEVER happens for this race!  I would definitely like to do this one again!  

Last weekend I ran the George Washington Parkway Classic (10 miler) with friends.  This is my 3rd time doing this race and we have always had the same luck with the weather. Rain in the forecast so we prepare for the worst. But then, race day it is overcast, no rain, perfect 50 degree running weather.  This is a point to point race so our group (of 4 this year) parked our van at the end in Olde Town Alexandria and shuttled to the start.
It starts at Mount Vernon. We barely had time this year to get to a potty and then run to the start! It was a pleasant race and my friend Rachel and I stayed together and talked for most of it.  I was feeling strong so would pull ahead sometimes and she told me at the end she was just trying to keep up with me!  According to my splits I ran the second half faster than the first and my last mile was 9:20 pace, which is HUGE for me!  
I am not fast and this is a fast mile for me, so I was pleased.  Although not a PR, I was not disappointed with my performance, and I think my cross training has paid off in allowing me to pull out a stronger finish!  

Afterwards I had made us a reservation for brunch at The Majestic.  The avocado toast and my crazy Bloody Mary was AWESOME!  Definitely a great reward!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ragnar Richmond Recap!

First Ragnar Trail relay is in the books and boy, was it an adventure!  Notice I said, "first"...I had originally thought I was "one and done" with these things (as I am with the full marathon) however, I think I could enjoy another go of one. Definitely a fan of the trail version and not interested in a road Ragnar though (the thought of sleeping in a van horrifies me more than camping!).  I think I need to wait til 2019 (or even 2020 ) though - not ready to train for another in 2018!  Gotta let the paint dry on this one...So, here's a detailed recap of our adventure: Proof that I CAN camp! Thursday 3pm-ish : 4 of us drove down to Richmond with all of the camping gear in order to set up our site and get checked in.  This was a great plan because we were able to scout out a site and set up before the rest of the team arrived the following morning. Our start time was one of the earlier times on Friday (10am) so we didn't want to be worried about s
Post a Comment
Read more

Summer running...happened so fast!

We are in the thick of summer humidity here in NOVA. My least favorite time of year to train for any races (Hence the reason I chose a March marathon last year, so I could train in the winter.)  More than the heat, the humidity just exhausts me.  It saps my energy like nothing else! (It is also the reason I am not doing another race until October.) And, as I was discussing with my friend on our soupy run this morning, just when I feel like I may be acclimated to the heat, it will be turning into fall here. (Fall is my favorite!) Regardless of the heat, I have still been running about 3 times a week (in addition to indoor cross-training and yoga) and trying to get in at least one "longer" run per week.  This week it was an 8 miler with my running group.  We did a "tour" of all the monuments and took photos along the way.  It is by far my favorite way to see the monuments. This is our second year and second attempt at getting a good shot of us all jumping together!
Post a Comment
Read more

Light me up!

Good morning and welcome to winter in northern VA.  We are on our 3rd snow day here (as in school's cancelled) and I am trying to make the best of it.  I did a long yoga practice (as my IT band is raging today and needed to stretch badly), ran errands this morning (before the so-called icy rain is supposed to arrive) and put the boys to work with homework and vacuuming.  Now to update the Blog and get some research done on the Ragnar race.  I hope to get in our times (we are not fast!) and figure the whole rotation out. I really need the help of someone who has done this before (preferably a former captain) so that I can have us well-prepared. Hit me up if you can help! For Christmas I asked for (and recieved!) lots of cool running gear.  I have yet to use the three types of lights I got.  The Nathan Headlamp is on sale at Rei.  I did take it out of the box and charge it (as it does not come charged but is a rechargable device simlar to my Garmin Vivofit watch).  I put it on and
1 comment
Read more