10k race report

Unless something suddenly comes up, this will be the final race report of 2008... and it's not the "go out with a bang" type of report I was hoping to file. On Sunday the 26th I ran in a local 10k. The weather forecast was sketchy at best - calling for rain and cold temps - but I wanted to see how my fitness was holding up. I have been doing some unstructured running and swimming 4 or 5 times a week since Muskoka, but no speed or tempo work at all... just out for jogs, basically. My most recent 10k race was mid-April when I ran a 51:35, which had been a 2 1/2 minute improvement over a fall '07 race, and a 6 minute improvement over spring '07. Of course, I arrived at the race site later than I wanted to, and was limited to a warm-up of less than 5 minutes. It was chilly, but after jogging a little I decided on a short-sleeved T, instead of the long one I was wearing at the time. I also opted to wear gloves, as dorky as that probably looked with the shorts & T-shirt. This is a 2-loop course around a park and is a very nice place to run, as long as the geese stay out of your way when you're passing by the river. Getting chased by a pissed-off goose may not seem like much, but when they stretch their little heads out and run at you, their beaks are pretty much right at crotch level. And truthfully, I have no desire to get pecked in the junk by a territorial bird. Also, not to be rude, but their poop is really slippery. I can just picture myself slipping in goose poop and pulling a groin as my legs fly up and I go down on my back like I'm on an icy sidewalk, and then getting my eyes poked out while I roll around on the ground with a psycho version of Mother Goose on top of me. Bad times. So yeah, I tend to keep an eye out along the riverbanks. The horn went, and right away I felt sluggish and slow... no spring in my step at all. The first km seemed to go by quickly, and a glance at my watch showed just over 4 1/2 minutes. A little quick for me, but not too bad, seeing as how I was hoping for a time in the 47 to 48 minute range. In early September I ran a 5k to the tune of 22:07, which is screaming fast for me. The Daniels running calculator says based on my 5k time, I should be able to knock off a 10k in 45:51. Two words: not likely. During my Dan-world-record setting 5k run of 22:07, I was in "all out" mode for the entire race, and despite being only 5k I was totally spent at the end. I think I would have to be in full-on giv'er mode for the full 10k to go sub-46, and I don't know if I could make it that far in that gear without running out of steam. At the time of the 5k I was one week away from the 70.3, so I was pretty much in my best shape of the year. But lately, with the relaxed running schedule, it would seem I've lost any speed that I may have had. So I managed to run past the chute the first time by in almost exactly 24 minutes. Not a good sign. Running sub-48 pretty much went out the window right there, since this past year proved that "negative split" is not a phrase that is part of my racing vocabulary. Yet. So I focused on my start-of-season goal of running a 10k under 50 minutes... something I still wanted to accomplish, but now seeming kind of pedestrian compared to my new 5k best. The hills on the second lap seemed a little steeper and longer - not sure how they managed that. The wind was killer in some spots, while other areas had hardly any with all the trees. I tried to pick up the pace with about 2k to go, and while my effort certainly increased, I can't guarantee that my pace did the same. I crossed in 49:47... achieving my goal from the start of the season, but I didn't feel fast during any part of the race. So now it's time for the off-season. I'm going to do a more detailed post of my plans and goals, but it goes something like:

• 12 weeks (now until mid-January) of 6 workouts per week (2,2,2), plus 3 weight room sessions. The 6 will increase to 9 by the end of the 12 weeks. My goal is to gain strength and power while continuing to improve my fitness base.
• 16 weeks (mid-January until Mother's Day) for a marathon training program, using swimming, biking, and weights as cross training days. It would be my first marathon.

As mentioned, that takes me to Mother's Day. The season starts one week later with a duathlon on May 18th. I won't be signing up for it until I can assess how well (or how poorly) I've recovered from the marathon. If I feel it's too soon, then my first race will be the Milton Triathlon (750, 30k, 7.5k) on May 31. Looking forward to it already.