One of the PRs I picked up at Cincinnati Flying Pig last May was in the 10K race. I was satisfied with the way I ran, despite battling indigestion the whole way. (Tip: On race morning, just say "no" to the stale powdered donuts on your cheap hotel's breakfast bar.) But I knew that 59:07 was a soft time that I should be able to easily break if conditions lined up just right.
This morning, that line lay straight and true:
Mile 1: 8:50
Mile 2: 8:59
Mile 3: 8:55
Mile 4: 9:38
Mile 5: 9:24
Mile 6: 9:08
10K elapsed time (Garmin Forerunner): 56:46 (new PR)
I've found the 10K distance to be a special challenge. It begs to be run hard, and yet at the same the trap of flaming out early looms large. This is especially true with the Rodeo Run 10K course. The first half snakes through the flat city blocks of downtown, past thousands of spirited spectators who are watching the 10,000 of us run as the "opening act" before the rodeo parade starts. The second half is an out-and-back double-crossing of the Elysian viaduct -- a bridge with which I now have a familiar disgust.
The ascent portion of the first bridge crossing was particularly tough today because of a 20 mph headwind coming in from the north. On the other hand, the wind was here because of a front that came through earlier, clouding the sky and cooling the air into the low-sixties Fahrenheit. It was a much better alternative to the warm and humid conditions in recent days.
Part of the plan going into the race was to try to stick to nine-minute pace. According to my Garmin Forerunner, I got that exactly. (It logged the total distance as 6.3 miles.) The other part of the plan was to dedicate this as a "Paulette Remission" Run. Paulette is one of the nicest people on the Runner's World forums, and she has just started battling cancer, which she has so affectionately nicknamed "MFer"! So this run was both a PR and a PR. Sweet!
"Kayano," you're now another hour closer to beating that cancer.
Yippee-ki-yay, MFer!
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