10K kickdown at Smile Center 10K race

This morning I got lots of company for my 10K kickdown! Sarah, Sarah, and Jess were all doing their very FIRST 10K, and I got to come along too :). We met at Sarah's house at 6 am and drove to Orem for packet pick-up. This race had some seriously nice schwag! I know I said that at last week's race, but it was true this week too. Entry fee: $23 (including the active.com surcharge), and I got a technical T-shirt, 2 bracelets, Wheaties, 2 energy bars, aquaphor, lip balm, sunscreen sample, pen, and of course a toothbrush (the race was sponsored by a dental group, hence the name Smile Center 10K). Not bad! Add to that a free post-race breakfast of french toast (which was VERY good, BTW), and I'd say there was good value here.

The weather had threatened showers, but it ended up partly sunny/overcast. Most of the race was partly sunny, and it became overcast at the end of the race. It was in the upper 40s (probably 9C), and I wore capris on the bottom. I had planned on a long-sleeved shirt, but with the sun out I switched to a short-sleeved shirt, and that turned out to be good. About mile 4 or so, I was actually hot - not too bad, but a bit warm, and thankful for the slight breeze. Didn't need my gloves at all (but had them pre-race just in case).

My coach wanted me to do today's race as a 10K kickdown. I was to start at 6:25/km for the first 2.5k, and then do 6:15/km, 6:05/km, and all-out for each subsequent 2.5km. I started a bit fast, at probably 2:45 for the first 500m, but then settled into a nice rhythm on the slight uphill, getting to 2.5km right on target at 16:04 (ave HR 152 - a little high...adrenaline?). I did notice my HR was on the high side today; not sure why, but it wasn't a big deal. Continuing on the slight uphill, I got a little excited on the next 2.53k (oops, missed my split by 0.03k!) and did it in 15:33, with average HR of 161. Despite the high HR, I was feeling pretty darn good at this point (5.03K in 31:37). I was a little worried about the HR but figured I'd just go with the flow.

The last 5K was much harder, naturally. I felt really good and so sped up a bit too much from 5-7k. I got to 6.0K in another 5:49 (5:57/km - remember, the last split was 5.03K not 5K!)...oops, was supposed to be doing 6:05/km (ave HR 167!). Pretty close, but I'd pay for this later. I was still feeling like I had another gear; I held back a little but was going pretty hard. Got to 7.0K in 6:03, right about on target (ave HR 167 again!). I was feeling all right despite the high HR, though - I would've guessed it was more like 160-162 if I hadn't had the HR monitor. The next 500m were in 3:01 (ave HR 168), so the third 2.5k was a total of 14:53, about 20 seconds faster than the 6:05/km that I was supposed to do. Oops. I did pay for this, though.

On to the last 2.5K, which was rather painful. Around 8k, there was a guy running with his girlfriend; she was struggling and he was cheering her on very kindly. I asked him if he'd cheer for me too, and about 30 sec later he did - saying "you can do it, ma'am!" Uhhhh, ma'am? Oh dear...guess I'm showing my advanced age ;). Oh well, it was good for a laugh, and it was fun to watch him cheer for his girlfriend. I got to 8K in 2:54, continuing my blistering pace (ave HR 172), for which I was soon to pay. As we rounded the last corner, there was a slight uphill and strong headwind to the finish. Yes, 8-9K was not fun at all. I squeaked out a 6:07 (ave HR 173), and it was a very painful km for sure. At least there was only 1K left, and I really did give it my all. My Garmin measured the course as 9.97km total, so the last 1K was 970m on the Garmin, and I did it in 5:57 (Garmin said ave pace was 6:08/k) with ave HR a whopping 174 (max 178). I really felt this...and was SO happy to cross the finish line. Jess's husband Nate took some great photos of me, which they said they'd e-mail to me tomorrow. I'll be curious to see how my form looks - I was trying so hard to have good posture at the end. Total for the last 2.5K was 14:58, slower than the third one. Yeah, I know, I was supposed to be faster, but I screwed it up. Hopefully my coach will forgive me :). Last 5K was under 30 min, at 29:51.

Total time 1:01:29 on my watch; the race timing had 1:01:28; I did wait a second to push the stop button. Ave HR was a whopping 163 for the race. The last 2K were very painful, but the rest wasn't that bad, so I'm not sure why my HR was so high, except maybe race adrenaline? In any case, I did finish 5th of 14 in my age group, and if I had been racing, I might have finished higher - 2nd place was 58:50, an achievable time for me if I'm in good shape, and that is against RUNNERS!

Still, despite that, I'm a little disappointed. I wanted to have more to give in the last 2K. I am worried that I don't have the strength or endurance I need to race well. I will also confess to being anxious about my weight again; it's up to 152 again :( and I haven't been eating well at all (which is why the weight is up). I really feel like I'm not in prime shape yet, and my important races are only 8 weeks away. I feel a new motivation to fuel myself appropriately, but I have this feeling that will disintegrate in the face of amazing food like the pie I promised my mom I'd make for the family bbq tomorrow. I hope that I am able to maintain some self-control in the face of the looming deadline. I also hope my fitness takes a turn for the better. If I'd started faster today I might have managed a sub-60 10K today, but I doubt it would have been under 59:30 - I just didn't have it. I ran out of gas at the end. That's not typical of my racing (last week was the first time this really happened to me; it was better this week but still...), and I'm disappointed and confused.

I've also been realizing that I probably don't have a whole lot more speed in me. I love the sport so much, and am willing to work very hard to improve, but there seems to be a limit, and I seem to be close to it. I wonder if I will be able to eclipse my 5K and 10K personal bests set 2 summers ago? Or am I getting too old to expect to be faster? My friend Sarah very kindly and sensibly pointed out that all I can do is do the best I can with the body that I have, and that I really do need to just focus on doing what I can do and leave the chips to fall where they may. No matter who you are, this is good advice. I'm going to sit and think on that for a while, and enjoy the fact that I get to racewalk again pain-free :).

Speaking of pain-free, the only thing that hurt at all today was my stupid toenail, which is still (obviously) not 100%. My right calf was a little tight but I never had any foot pain. And best of all, I did not even THINK about my left foot even once during the race - didn't consider it until after the race when I was talking about injuries with my friends. This is good news!!! I'm back, racewalking, and enjoying it. Now I need to relax and have fun, stop stressing, and just love my favorite sport.

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