On race morning, I woke up and got ready and drove over to Bonelli. I got there about 6:45 and got my shirt and bib and went back to the car to relax a little. About 7:20, I started my warm up and ran backwards along the route. About half way, I stopped and used the restroom and then ran back for a 2 mile warmup. I finished about 7:45 and had a gel and then did some leg swings until it was time to get in the corral.
The race started a few minutes past 8 and I was ready! Let's do this!
The RD sent us out and I took off. The 5K & 10K started together but the 5Kers split off almost immediately so it thinned out right away. The race starts out uphill and I looked down at my garmin and I was going like 8:20 so I forced myself to slow down! I knew that there would be more hills, dirt, and a stream crossing ahead so didn't want to blow up too early. This is what the course and my paces looked like:
These are my splits for each mile
1 - 9:16
2 - 9:28
3 - 10:03
4 - 9:36
5 - 9:30
6 - 9:27
.2 - 1:59 (8:40 pace)
I didn't know exactly what pace I could hold but I knew it had to be 9:39 per mile to beat 60 minutes. I think I did pretty well in holding back my pace for that first mile. There was a short, steep hill and a little bit of dirt in mile 2 but managed not to lose too much time there. I think around 9:30s was where I was most "comfortable" in that I was working hard but not gasping for air.
The only mile I messed up was mile 3. When we got to the stream, it was muddy going down into it and then up out of it. I slipped a little as we ran down but didn't lose it. There was a slight bottleneck there as we crossed and you can see my pace really dropped (about half way between 2&3). We were on dirt for the next 1/3 mile or so and I never made up that time I lost. Darn it! Mile 4 had a little bit of an out and back and the out is a slight uphill. Once we hit the turnaround, I always feel like that's the half way point because I can smell the barn. Ha! But 5 and 6 had some hills so I knew I had to pace myself. I pushed on the hills so I wouldn't lose too much time and then flew down the other side. Then I ran as hard as I could at the end.
I actually thought I might not be under an hour because I didn't keep track of all my splits as I ran and when I looked at a mile to go, I thought it said I needed a 8:30 ish mile to be under an hour. I was like, "oh no!" but then told myself "I'm gong to make it!" but I thought it would be really close. I must have been mistaken/miscalculated though because when I ran into the finish chute and saw the clock, I was so happy! 59:20 official! I'd beat my goal! With time to spare! Woo!
We even got medals for this 10K! Can you tell I was happy?
Yep, I was. I felt like I gave this everything I had. I maybe could have run the stream section a little better but I am ecstatic that I didn't lose time on the hills at the end. I think I did pretty darn well. I was really nervous before the race. More so than for the last couple of Halfs I've done. I'm not sure why. I knew that I would have to run hard and stay focused and I think that scared me a little because I haven't run like that in a long time. I am proud of this race and myself for getting it done and not giving up when I got tired.
If I could change anything it would be nutrition. I didn't have anything for breakfast and just had the gel. I might have had a little more energy if I'd eaten. But it is what it is. And like I said, I'm happy with it!
My next race is another Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. I'll be running the Claremont Turkey Trot 5K for the first time and I'm hoping to make this race a new Thanksgiving Tradition. A lot of runners from Fleet Feet Rancho will be there so it should be a lot of fun.
Happy Thanksgiving! And good luck if you are running a Turkey Trot!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving ..Thank you for sharing ..
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