Capitol 10,000!

This morning, the weather was perfect for running a good 10k. Temps were probably in the 50's at the start of the race, slightly breezy, clear and cool. Humidity wasn't an issue. If there was ever a day to go for a good time at this distance, this was it. It was singlet weather, so I donned my all-black Gazelles gear for today's effort.

I met up with the Gazelles an hour before the race start for a nice relaxed warmup (I did about a mile) and the usual drills. I was feeling pretty good. I was confident that I could PR in this race, but I had no real clue as to what to expect other than that. We stretched a little with Gilbert, and then Gilbert had us approach the start line in a roundabout way, so Frank and I jogged that extra distance to reach the starting corrals about 10 minutes before the gun. They did a much better job of making sure that the correct color bibs got in the proper corral, which made for a much better start to the race. I remembered at the last minute to double tie my shoes, and wished Margaret, Sean and Frank luck.

At the gun, I ended up maybe 20 seconds off of clock time as I crossed the start line. My legs felt a little tight in the first half mile or so, but I soon fell into a race rhythm and motored along Congress. I was passing people in droves, but was never held up by the crowd. I was able to run my pace all day long. I felt fairly relaxed on the slightly inclined first mile, working hard but not going crazy, and passed the mile 1 marker in 7:49. That was a little faster than I had expected, but it felt about right, so I didn't worry too much. We zigzagged around the Capitol, up a short little hill, and then ended up on 15th. I kept up the same effort level, and on the rolling mile 2, I ended up with an almost identical split of 7:52. Mile 3 starts with a long uphill, but after all the hillwork that we do in training, I was able to push through that mile pretty efficiently. I was working hard, but was right on target. I passed Jan during mile 3, but figured that she might sneak along behind me and catch me later in the race. That probably made me run harder. Mile 3 split, after turning south, was 7:53. Through 3 miles, I was way ahead of schedule, but felt great. I was on a good run, and now it was time to bring it home. It was at this point that I thought about Patrick and the challenge he had thrown down to me, to run past that comfortable zone and go for a really good time. I was determined to keep pushing hard, and resolved to get everything out of this race that I could. Thanks for the mental note, Patrick!

Mile 4 had one minor hill in it, really not too bad compared to some of the stuff we've done. After that, it has a lot of downhill trend as it rolls down to the river and Austin High School. A good number of folks were walking or slowing considerably through this stretch. These are roads that I know really well, from a zillion races and training runs. Don Lujan, one of the guys who's run every Capitol 10,000, passed me during mile 4. I chatted briefly, but we both had work to do. My mile 4 split was a really surprising 7:35. I dodged the sprinkler on the course and kept focused on the task at hand. There were a couple of people more or less running my pace, so I kept them in sight. With only 2 miles and change to go, it was time to really bear down. I kept passing people during mile 5, and after the underpass over by the dog pound that's in every race downtown, I soon came up on the mile 5 marker. With the sun blasting in our eyes, it was somewhat tough going, but I hit my mile 5 split at 7:37. I wasn't trying to calculate my possible finishing times, but I knew I was way ahead of my stated pre-race goals. Time for the big payoff!

Churning up the slight incline on Cesar Chavez, I kept moving and working hard. I reached the bridge and turned for RunTex and the last corner. On the bridge, I saw Gilbert, right when I was suffering a little, and his quick cheer picked me up. I passed several guys right after that, as if I had gotten a rocket booster, and made the turn for home. The mile 6 split right after the last corner was 7:34. I'm really glad that Peter gave me the tip about the finish line this year. When it's stretched out on a straight, it looks forever away, but I knew what I had to do. At first, a couple of people went around me right after the marker, but I dug deep, and pushed for the finish. I concentrated on my form, and pressed past the uncomfortable point. As I got closer to the line, I saw that I had a shot at getting under 48:00, which was a wildly improbable thought! So, I had to dig even harder, re-passing a couple of folks late, and nipping across the line in 47:52. My finishing kick wasn't that much faster than I was going already (about 7:18 finishing kick), but I certainly wasn't slowing down.

It was a really great result for me, and it's a sign that all the hard work is starting to pay off. I blasted my "Masters PR" by almost 2 minutes, at an average pace of 7:42/mile. This was totally unexpected, but very gratifying. I did an almost perfect job of pacing and racing, with a definite negative split by a bunch. A fantastic day at the races.

Frank, Sean, Henry, Jan, Patrick and I all PR'd today, so it was a good day for lots of folks. Gilbert returned to racing again, and ran a strong 3rd overall, so he was happy with his day.

After hanging out and doing the usual post-race eating, drinking and talking, I had to get going. Frank and I jogged back to where our cars were parked, about a half mile. I took the time to stretch while I drank my Endurox in the parking garage, and that helped. Tomorrow, I'll be hanging with the Monday/Wednesday 9:00 Gazelles, so we'll see if Gilbert has us do the scheduled circuit training or substitutes something easier.