T - 48 : 10km IBM Classic Race report

Main Entry: con·fi·dence
Function: noun
Date: 14th century

1 a: a feeling or consciousness of one's powers or of reliance on one's circumstances.
b: faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way.
2: the quality or state of being certain


SYNONYMS:
confidence, self-possession, aplomb mean a state of mind or a manner marked by easy coolness and freedom from uncertainty, diffidence, or embarrassment.

*confidence stresses faith in oneself and one's powers without any suggestion of conceit or arrogance.
*self-possession implies an ease or coolness under stress that reflects perfect self-control and command of one's powers.
*aplomb implies a manifest self-possession in trying or challenging situations.


Today we ran the IBM 10k. I didn't really state my goals (other than a sub-40 min), as I wanted to be sure I hit them for myself, before throwing them out for the world to see.
We're 48 days away from the marathon. Today for me my goals were: A fitness test, a self-control test, and third and most important: Do not get injured by doing something silly.

We ran a 5.25mile warmup before the race. nice and easy, controlled, along the first 5 miles of the course and the final straightaway. I felt ok.

For the race, I knew there was no way i wouldn't PR (personal record) today, as 2.5 years ago, I ran my last 10k, and well, that was 2.5 years ago, so the finish time wasn't a carrot on a stick for me. On top of that, we haven't done too many test runs where we can get a definitive range on our fitness to enter a specific number into the McMillan Calculator to decide on a race pace today. So, I decided a sub 40min 10K would be just fine. 6min 25sec miles gets me under 40.
More importantly my goals were to run a strong run, maybe at 85% to 90% of effort, not pull a hamstring or some other silly injury, and just really test out the fitness in a race environment.

I think it was also good to step on a starting line of a race race to remember the butterflies in the stomach, the feeling of exhaustion 15 mins before the gun, the feeling of dead legs standing at the start line, and the chaos of the first 1/4 mile.

I felt strong throughout. I planned on running with Jo Dee (long lost friend) as she spotted me and she wanted to get under 40. We ran the first 2 to 2.5 miles together. They were controlled paces, letting friends take a good 10, 20, 30 yard lead as I had my race to run.

We clocked in at 6:30 for the first mile, which was great, as I was nailing my goal of running a controlled race.

Mile 2, clocked in at 6:17, which was on purpose, to even out the lost 5 seconds from mile 1. Plus, there were 2 nice downhill slants to do just that. At about mile 2.5, Jo Dee started falling off my desired pace, and told me I had more than a 6:25 in me, and to leave her. I didn't object as I knew she meant it, and I picked up the pace a tad.

Mile 3, clocked in at I don't know. They didn't have a 3 mile marker, (saving money in the tough economy?) but instead had a half way check point. I clocked in at 6:39 for 1.1 miles. Here's where the Yahoos showed up. All these runners that are feeling GREAT after 2.5 miles racing by me. "No problem, we'll catch those clowns at mile 5 when they're dying for race mis-management".

Half way point.... 19:39. Coincidentally, matching my 5K PR from Sep 2007.

Mile 4, not to sure as mile 3 and 4 were 12:40, meaning 6:20avg for both. I'll take them. I was feeling great. I'd started picking up the pace a little, but staying under control. I'd say now i'm running closer to 85% of effort.

Mile 5, Mile 5 included the biggest hill, and a couple of other uphill streets. I clocked in at 6:02. I'm feeling great. Not only am I feeling great, but I'm on hills and people are fading, so it's fun to run. Effort is still at 85%.

Mile 6 and 0.2 to the finish: Clocked in Mile 6 at 6:07, and then 1:05 for the 0.2. Effort now up to 95% but still feel controlled. I'm tiring ,but i'm not feeling like DEATH.

Finished with a 38:42, a 4minute 14 second faster time, equating to 41 seconds faster per mile than my prior PR in the 10k.

I felt great the entire way. I pushed it towards the finish for sure, but I passed the fitness test with flying colors. Never did I feel like I was dying. Never did I feel like my legs were giving out. My breathing, and my overall fitness felt really strong, which talking to a couple of other team mates we all equate to the base building miles. Many of us just felt sooo much better than in past short distance races where you just feel like you want to crawl into the gutter and die.

Super happy!

Stats:
Loose goal 6:25'ish
Mile 1: 6:30
Mile 2: 6:17
Mile 3&4: 12:40 (6:20)
Mile 5: 6:02
Mile 6: 6:07
0.2: 1:05

Half way (1st 5km): 19:39 (rank:92:)
Second half (2nd 5km): 19:02 (rank:40 - passed 51 clowns* that went out too fast)
Full: 38min 42sec

My Age Group: 12th of 151 (7.9%)
Overall: 62nd out of 1589(3.9%)
(No idea what I ranked in Males, but the website's sort feature is broke.)

*confidence stresses faith in oneself and one's powers without any suggestion of conceit or arrogance.
*self-possession implies an ease or coolness under stress that reflects perfect self-control and command of one's powers.
*aplomb implies a manifest self-possession in trying or challenging situations.

GRADE: A+

(total miles: 5.25 warmup + 6.2 + around 1 warmdown, so about 12.5)

*Can't count my friend I passed (that fell on the course) as a clown. I would have slowed down after a fall for sure, as this was NOT our 'A' race.