Thursday, April 7, 2011

Meteor 10K

A great day for a run
 I hopped back on the race wagon on Saturday with the Meteor 10K, my first race since the Thunder Road Marathon in December. We all know how badly I got my ass kicked by that race. Let's move on.

I ran the Meteor 10K three years ago, the half two years ago, and now I was back for another crack at the 10K. I knew all of my previous 10K times were out of reach; my goal for this race was to run strong and enjoy the morning. What a morning it was! Clear, dry, and about 35 degrees at 7:30 when the Engineer and I arrived at the race venue for our 8:00 start.

Wearing the best Bondi band ever, courtesy of the Redhead. Now, if only I would stand up straight...
The green and black insanity you see above was part of the awesome bag o' swag from the Redhead, which I received the day before at the race expo.

Spike and I at the expo, representin' Boston and Grand Rapids
After some hobnobbing with my fellow run-nerds, the Engineer and I slid into the crowd near the back of the pack. I was anticipating running 9:45-10:00 miles, an easy, comfortable pace, and so I was pleased when Garmy beeped for the first mile in 9:38. That would be the slowest mile of the race, as I subsequently managed 9:23, 9:15, 9:20, and 9:14 miles. With a mile and change left to run, I decided to pick up my speed a little and see if I could squeeze out a sub-9:00 mile.

The whole race had unfolded smoothly; I kept my breathing under control and felt relaxed and energetic. I crested the final hill and saw the turn to the finish about a quarter-mile away. I cruised down the slope, made the turn, and finished strong. A quick check of Garmy told me I had run 8:49 for mile 6. Official finish time: 57:36. That's more than 10 minutes off my best but I was pleased nontheless.

Heading for the finish
I ran 5.5 miles Tuesday, 4 yesterday, and if the weather cooperates I'll run 3 after work today. The weekend holds 4 miles on Saturday and 9 on Sunday. I'll be in Ohio again for some family stuff, so I'm looking forward to a change of venue. Nine miles isn't enough to lure me to the Towpath Trail, but I'm sure I can string together something around the old neighborhood.

6 comments:

Jen Feeny said...

I friggin' loved that you rocked that crazy looking Bondi Band for the race! LOL! I seriously should have included one in the Engineer's bag! Great job on the race girl, I am so proud of the progress you've been making with the running rebound and I know that soon running 9:45-10's are going to be your easy pace again. Keep it up!

BrianFlash said...

It is always nice to get out for a race - even if you aren't trying to blaze the trail!

Anonymous said...

Good race. A nice way to revitalize the racing spirit and get back on the path.

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

We all know how badly I got my ass kicked by that race. Let's move on.

The other day I was pitching to Ian (so far, this sounds potentially gay, but I swear it's not; and Ian is my SON, so how could you think that!?) and he wanted me to pitch faster so he'd have practice hitting a fast ball. Problem is, as my speed increases, my accuracy diminishes.

You can see where this is going.

Anyroad, I hit him with a pitch (still NOT gay). In the leg.

And it hurt him but I still made him get back in the batter's box right away and take a few more pitches. (Fortunately, I did not hit him again.)

And so all of this was just the scenic route I took trying to get to my main point, that being the truism that ... when a race kicks yer ass, you gotta get right back out there and race ...

Uh ... 4 months later?

Still, the point is, you raced again. You got back on the horse.

Kudos!

And a nice time! I'd love to be able to run a 57:xx 10k and say it was TEN FUCKING MINUTES off my best time!

Kudos again.

Nitmos said...

Nice to have a negative split race, no? It's always pleasant when a run unfolds more positively than you expect. But, did you enjoy beer afterwards? Curiously, no mention of this.

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