Great Day At The Races! [Scenic 10 Miler]

What a day! After weeks of teasing weather, the forecast was finally correct this morning. It was a brisk 52 degrees, crisp and clear, but with a strong 15-20 mph North wind a'blowing as I arrived at the parking for the Scenic 10 Miler. This was an interesting race to begin with, since it is a one-time course. We started and finished at the tollbooths on a new tollroad in North Austin that sweeps up and over to Round Rock. The road opens up for business, so to speak, in a week, so this race and a companion bicycle ride/race were part of the grand opening festivities. It was a true out-and-back course the whole way. The parking for the event was on the actual toll road, as well. They had guys there with the magic flashlights, waving us into our landing slots like aircraft carrier landings at night. I was there early, naturally, but to me it seemed like that part of the logistics worked very well. I had no problem getting out later.

I got out, all bundled up in extra clothes, for the warmup jogging with the Gazelles. It was full dark, but all the lights on the road made for easy travel. I managed to find the Gazelles without too much trouble, and after shivering for a while, we took off at the scheduled 6:00 for an easy 2 miles. We ran the first and last mile of the course, which turned out to be a really smart thing. I know that they are one and the same, but under today's conditions, they were very different animals. The start was straight into the teeth of the wind, so it felt much colder going north, and it was harder going against the breeze. I immediately regretted the absence of a pair of gloves in my race apparel choices. It was hard to hear each other going out, but when we turned around at the mile marker, it was amazingly quiet and much different with the wind at our backs. The course was also a steady incline for the first mile, so the last mile would be a nice downhill, wind at the back kind of deal. After our reconnaissance run, I made a note to run relaxed in the first mile, so I wouldn't waste extra energy fighting the wind and incline and mess up my entire race. Any extra time I spent in that first mile should be easy to get back in the last mile, unless I was totally out of gas.

Since the Gazelles tent couldn't be put up in the windy conditions, I didn't have my post-race gear there at the start/finish, so I made my way back to the car to get ready to race. I ditched the long pants and overshirt, and put on a long-sleeved shirt over my singlet (the "lucky PR singlet" from Indy). Shorts would be just fine. Gazelles cap on my head, and I was ready to go. Chip on the shoe? Check. Race number affixed to the outer shirt? Check. A quick last sip of Gatorade, and it was time to get back to the corrals.

Of course, best laid plans and all that, the announcer came on and told us that the start was being delayed for 15 minutes due to traffic issues. Grrrrr... So, we had to sort of stall and try to keep our warmup feeling going with fitful jogs and strides. There was also a good bit of hiding behind any shelter you could find. There were a good number of people standing behind the edge of the two port-o-let lines. Any port in a storm, eh?

Finally, it was time to get going. We huddled up behind the start line, and heard a rather interpretive version of the National Anthem. I think the singer was either scared or just made a mistake and started too high for her voice. When she got to "...and the Rocket's Red Glare...," she had to shift into what might charitably be called an "alternate melody" for a few lines. Oh, well, I couldn't do that song, anyway, but I do notice it when it's sung. She finished just fine. Wheelchairs, and then, finally, at 7:50am, 20 minutes late, we were off. The sunrise was really beautiful off in the distance, a riot of pastels. I'm glad I noticed it in all the hubbub.

I was lined up with Amy, Venus and a few other Gazelles, and at the start, once we stepped on the timing mats, the two girls went out ahead of me pretty strongly. I gathered my willpower, and stuck to my race plan. I sort of cruised the first mile up the incline into the wind, moving through the crowds, but not trying to push super hard at the gun. I passed my massage guy, Ron, and we chatted a bit as I moved on. Anyway, one mile down, and I was finally warmed up again. It had taken that first mile to get my legs back ready to race, and now it was time to get going.

Mile two had a short downhill and then a long moderate climb up the curving ramp to turn east towards Round Rock. Of course, a nice moderate downhill followed, and mile two was done. I checked my split there, and I was at a pace that I figured I could maintain. I felt great, and with the wind at least off to an angle, it wasn't so bothersome. The sun was up by now. From this point to the turnaround, it was pretty much a dead straight road. That offered its own difficulties, mostly in judging distance and trying to keep from veering into runners around you. I mostly stuck to running along one of the painted stripes in the road to keep on course. My attention wandered a bit when I didn't do this.

Miles 3-5 were pretty much the same, with long stretches of boring inclines and declines. Nothing steep, but not too much in the way of truly flat roads, either. For me, it was fine. I like courses that give you modest changes in elevation, to engage different leg muscles. Sort of like a smoother Decker course. I was doing a good job of moving up through the field, and with each mile, I was chipping away at my overall pace. The leaders passed me on their return leg just after I passed the 4 mile marker, and from that point on, it was fun to check out the runners heading home. Lots of Gazelles, and some other familiar faces as well. I grabbed water and/or Powerade at the 3 mile mark or so, and another quick drink near the turnaround so I could take my GU. I got about half of it down, and held it until after the turnaround, where I grabbed another cup of water on the way back "home." I saw Venus, Amy, Sue, and a bunch of other Gazelles about 100-200 yards ahead of me at the turnaround, so I knew the task at hand for the second half. Stepped on the timing mat at the 5 mile marker, and it was time to retrace my steps. Halfway done. Average pace at the 5 mile mark was 8:00/mile, almost exactly. I was feeling good, moving well, and I didn't feel like I had worked super hard to that point. Time to go for a negative split and to try to catch some of my friends before the finish!

I got a little nervous during mile 6, for some reason, thinking that I was starting to detect signs of fatigue. That passed, but it was just something to work through. I caught up with a woman during that mile, and she stuck with me for a good mile and a half, running side by side with me. Now that's fine, but she was thisclose to me as we ran, and even bumped into me at one point. She apologized, but it was kinda strange. I realized that she was using me as a pacer, but that was okay with me, I suppose. I knew I had further accelerations to come, so if she could stay with me, good for her. A friend of hers passed us by and said something to her. I'd see him later.

I caught up with Amy during mile 7, I think, and kept on going. By now, I was accelerating each mile, little by little, and I knew I was on a good day of running. Every time I thought I was getting in trouble, I just checked the next split, and I realized that I was feeling a little more stressed because I had picked up the pace again. Cool. A last Powerade cup somewhere in there, and I was ready for the big finish. I dumped that girl late in mile 7, early mile 8. I caught Venus during mile 8, on the ramp curving back south. I also caught that guy who had passed earlier. He remembered me (my bright red shirt was probably a clue), and said something to me about how I had "tracked him down" and was doing a good job. That was pretty cool, actually.

I powered up the ramp, and on the downhill on the other side, that guy was back. We started running/racing together from that point to the finish line. We pulled each other to the nine mile marker, and it was time for the big downhill finish. The wind had degenerated into a steady breeze with gusts, so it was a helping wind, but not as forceful as it had been earlier. That last mile seemed to take forever. My new racing partner and I were taking turns pushing the pace, and I was working hard by now. It was difficult to judge how far it was to the finish. You could see the tollbooths from a long way off, and it seemed like they weren't getting closer fast enough. I sneaked a peek at the GPS, finally, and saw that we had just a half mile to go. That guy pulled away from me in the last half mile, but I chased him to the finish just the same, passing a bunch of folks in that last mile. Finally, I heard Evel call out my name, and I was done.

I had really run hard, especially that last mile or two, and it took a little bit to get settled down after the finish. I sucked down some air, and got sort of back to normal finally, and kept moving through the finish area. I saw Bernard, and told him I'd had a good day. How good? My final time of 1:17:03, 7:42/mile average pace, was a huge Masters PR, knocking 5 minutes off of last year's Pervasive 10 Miler time. That was a lot harder course, but I'm not sure it was 5 minutes harder. My time was also within 11 seconds of my lifetime best, set back in 12/93. My furious last mile was responsible for the charge at my lifetime PR, I think. I knew I was having a good day, but I hadn't been able to calculate anything serious out on the course. Probably wouldn't have changed things, but I might have been able to find 11 seconds out there somewhere? Who knows? Second half was knocked out at 7:24/mile average pace, which was also a 5 mile lifetime PR, besting a 5 mile race (37:27) in Stone Mountain, GA, back in 9/93. My last 7 miles today were at an average pace of 7:30, besting my lifetime best at 10K (pace 7:31) set way back in 5/85, when I was a mere child. So, I guess to run a good 10K, I have to do a 3 mile hard warmup? :-) Very satisfying numbers. And it was unexpected. I had had some excellent workouts lately, but that bad IBM 10K had shaken my confidence, and I needed a good race. Mission accomplished.

My HR info was interesting, too. Seems that I ran a very good race, judging from the HR, because I spent most of the race, until mile 9 and 10, in a perfect distance racing zone. It rose during the big finish, but all in all, the numbers backed up my impression that I ran within myself today. I don't think I left too much time out there, though. :-)

Splits: 8:36, 7:59, 7:54, 7:49, 7:44, 7:50, 7:40, 7:29, 7:19, 6:42. 1:17:03. I'm pretty sure that the last mile split of 6:42 was the fastest mile I've ever run in any race, 5K or longer, with the possible exception of that PR 5K race, and that race was way back in May, 1986.

Amy was nice enough to very slowly run our 2 mile cooldown with me, and those very slow miles sure helped relax our legs once we were done. She PR'd, too, along with most of the folks I talked with in the Gazelles. What a great day!

For the day, 14 miles, including warmup/cooldown. For the week, 39 miles. A nice manageable mileage increase. Things are going well. Now, all I have to do is keep doing it. Easy, right?

Oh, yeah, the Gazelles in Chicago did well as a group this morning. There were a bunch of PR's, some startling debut marathons (Brad ripped off a 3:29:xx!), and some Boston Qualifiers. Weather was pretty good for them, but a strong wind knocked them around a bit over the last 5 miles or so. I can't wait to hear more of their marathon stories! I also wish I could have been there to enjoy the post-race pizza and beer! :-)