Esquerre Athletic Coaching: Race recap

This past Sunday I ran in a local 10 mile race and had a great time. I've only run in two races thus far (a half marathon and a 5k) but I didn't have nearly as much fun in those races as I did in this one. A little past the halfway point there was a turnaround and you could see the other runners for about three or four miles. The runners that were ahead of the pack were very focused and didn't say much but the rest of the runners were clapping for them and saying things like "You got this!", "Looking great!" and "Keep it up!". I even got a chance to talk to other runners during the race which is something I always wanted to do but never got a chance to. The overall camaraderie was great and it reminded me why I love running so much.

What was even more surprising to me was how great I felt during the race. I maintained a steady pace and wanted to keep my heart rate somewhat low until the last three miles when I would increase my speed. I didn't keep tabs on my watch too much because I really just wanted to enjoy the race and take my time. I figured this race could be a gauge for me to see how I would handle the first half of my marathon in November. Once I reached the turnaround point I figured I was going a bit slow. Though I started passing people I assumed it was more my quick turnover rather than running faster. At the six mile mark my watch buzzed so I decided to check it. For that mile I had run an 8:58 pace. Well then I must have been hoovering around that time for the earlier miles because my speed was relatively the same.

Since my heart rate was at about 151 and I felt good I decided to increase my speed a bit. At this point there weren't too many other people around and some of the people that I did see I started to pass. Around mile 8 I came up on a woman who was running a steady but challenging pace. I saw her before the turnaround and was surprised I was able to catch up to her. Before I reached her she managed to leave two other runners in the dust who looked like they were pacing with her. I caught up with her and decided to pace with her if I could.

She had headphones on and didn't say anything but we ran side-by-side. I wondered if she knew that I was pacing with her but after about a mile I figured she knew. Her pace was steady but a bit fast for me. Once we reached mile 9 I checked my watch and saw that we were running a 8:45 min./mile pace. I had been keeping that pace for about four miles now and while I was feeling okay and my heart rate was at about 163, I wanted to slow down. But I knew that I had to keep going cause we were at the end. We turned a corner and saw the finish line which was only .20 miles away. Once we turned that corner my fellow runner said, "You ready? Let's finish this." That was all I needed and together we sprinted to the finish line.

I did ten miles in 1 hour and 30 minutes with a 9 min./mile pace. After I crossed the finish line I looked for my pacer who had run a little bit farther past the line and was starting to slow down. I shook her hand and said thank you and she nodded and smiled back. For a test race this was great and it built my confidence back up. At this point in my training I've started to get anxious and just want to get to the race already. I feel like I've been training for this marathon for the entire year. Since I run by myself I wanted to see how I would handle running in a race with other people. The first time I ran in a race I was all over the place and ended up burning out way before the finish line. My marathon will have many more people than this race did but it was helpful to see that I can keep myself together and stay focused.

I'm looking forward to running this race again next year!

Here are some pictures for the race: