Perfect 10 Miler 2008 – Race Report

Yesterday I ran the "Perfect 10 Miler" race in the East side of town. I ran this race last year for the first time and I enjoyed it. My time last year was 1:08:31, which is also a 10 mile PR for me. Before the race I tried to figure out a reasonable time goal. I know that I have lost speed the past few months so I knew that a new course record was impossible. Plus, instead of resting, I ran 15 miles yesterday. So I figured that I would be happy with a pace of 7:30/mile, which gives a time of 1:15.

Traditionally, the weather is always rainy for this race but this year it was an exception with nearly “Perfect” weather, cool temperatures and sunny. The race started at 7:30 am. I hooked with a couple my “buddies”, Susan, Rose, Mike, and Brett for a short time in the first mile but I felt good and pulled ahead. Mike passed me around mile 3.



The race is on residential streets, following a rather complicated pattern (see picture here and also in this link where you can follow the race route: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/player/6539979)

The first 4 miles are rather flat but for the next 2 miles there is a gradual uphill. Last year this uphill slowed me down, but this year I was running it strong and comfortable with a nearly constant pace of 7 min/mile.

There was a water stop at mile 5. I was getting ready to grab a cup, when the guy in front of me dropped a cup and then took the last cup so I was left without water! This made me a bit mad, and I stormed ahead. At this point I passed Mike and did not see him again.

Miles 7 and 8 are downhill and then mostly flat from there. I was getting tired after mile 8 but I did manage to maintain a fairly constant pace. I got passed by a couple of runners towards the end and suddenly I saw Susan passing me. This motivated me to run a bit faster to keep up with her. We entered the High School stadium for the final 50 yards on track. I started sprinting, along with everyone around me. I managed to pass Susan right before the finish.

Final Time: 1:09:57 (pace of 7:00)
The pace was fairly even with 34:41 in the first half and 35:16 in the second half.
Placement: 43/405 overall, 7/42 age.

Overall, I am happy because I exceeded my goal. Actually, my time in this race is better than the Hermes 10 miler earlier in the Spring where I won 3rd place in my age group. I now see that I can run 7 minute miles in long runs. If I can maintain this pace I can improve my 1/2M and Marathon times.

Comparing the races in 2007 and 2008, I see that even though I was 1 ½ minutes slower than last year, this time loss came mainly in the first 4 miles:

------- 2007 - 2008 ------
Mile 1 - 6:25 - 6:49
Mile 2 - 6:43 - 7:07
Mile 3 - 6:34 - 6:51
Mile 4 - 6:46 - 6:57

The next miles are about even, which means that I have gotten stronger in the later part of the race:

Mile 5 - 7:02 - 7:03
Mile 6 - 7:14 - 7:10
Mile 7 - 6:57 - 6:52
Mile 8 - 6:50 - 6:58
Mile 9 - 7:11 - 7:12
Mile 10 - 6:56 - 7:02

Next race: Buckeye half marathon, September 7.