back to back

rumbled through another 10K race this morning. in the six days since my last 10K effort i got faster, maybe. maybe not, but here is the recap.

i woke up. the weather was complete crap. it was cold, windy, drizzle'ie, and cold. i was set to run this one solo as my two running buddies were still in recovery mode from last weekends 10k. of course, there would about 500 other folks there for me to chit chat with.

going in i had no expectations. i was bummed not to get a sub 50 minute effort last weekend. that course was fast,the weather was perfect, and my legs were solid. i just never got on pace or found my groove. i think i actually went out to slow last weekend as i overcompensated for the fast course and my concern for going to fast. figures.

so, no expectations and around mile 1 i was good with this. i didn't feel like running at all. then, about mile 1.5 i found my pacer. a little rabbit to follow. she (of course, what fun is it having a male rabbit) seemed to be running well at 7:40 mile pace. i really got into a nice rhythm running next to her.

this course is an out an back. at the turn around point (3.1 miles) we were running well and on a solid pace. i was putting forth an effort, but felt like running, so it was good. then bam, the wind smacked us in the face. it was like hitting a wall. at that point, i did what i normally do when the going gets tough, took the lead.

she tucked nicely behind me, in fact closer then Psimet even tucks in, and i powered us through the wind. miles 4 and 5 were slower, but not by much. i could here another runner latch on and say to her, "Hey, you got the right idea." i couldn't responds as i could barely breath. around mile 5 she came out just a bit to say thank you then quickly tucked back in.

as we approached the finish the shoe sucker was encouraging me to finish fast and not let him pass me since i did all the work. i did, but man was i gassed. so much so i forgot to stop Mr. Garmin until several minutes after my actual finish. we chatted afterwards and they both thanked me again, which was a bit odd for me. i made sure to inform my lady rabbit that she helped me the first half by getting me on a fast pace.

unofficially it was 48:47. i got my sub 50 10k. not to shabby for a roadie.

HR 173 avg / 180 max

Splits
1=7:40
2=7:38
3=7:46
4=7:51
5=8:07
6=7:49

Later.

edit: official time 48:50. 64th out of 246. 10th out of 26 in mens 35 to 39 age group.