I just finished a 10.329km running that lasted about 0hh:56mm:35ss !
Hey Exhausters,
Just like predicted in my previous post, the final week of preparation for this 10k went without any surprise, and not a single additional run. Like I said, not the first time, and knowing myself, probably not the last... But on Saturday morning, after only a couple hours of sleep (again!), I got up VERY early, and drove the 20 minutes or so to get there. At that time of the year, the weather in Michigan can be anything. I remember running this race with snow, another year it was summer heat, or under heavy cold rain... This year was sunny and chilly, just around 32F or 0C, perfect for a run! But not to wait for the start! The walk from the parking spot I found to the start line was about 10 minutes, and I could already feel it. But standing in line waiting for my race bib, it was cold! Of course, I was just wearing my shorts and a t-shirt, ready to run! I even walked back to my car, stayed in for 5 minutes, then walked back. I guess that was my warm up. Finally the race started! I made sure to start in the middle, so I wouldn't be tempted to start too fast, but not too slow either. I won't go into too much details, let's just stay it was tough! On top of being currently out of shape, I had a stomachache, quite painful actually. I guess eating and drinking so much the night before was probably not a good idea... Surprisingly, my pace wasn't so bad for the first part. I started to struggle after maybe 4km, but managed to keep it together till after 7km. It was a hydration station, I decided to walk while drinking, and for a couple minutes after that. You can see that on the splits below for mile 5. Even after that short break, the end wasn't easy either, but I could go back to pretty much the same pace as before. Heart rate was a bit surprising too: I run usually above 180bpm, but during that race, it barely went over 160bpm. Maybe the temperature?
Final official time was 56min24s. Even though I secretly hoped to beat 55 minutes, my only objective was to stay under 1 hour. So I guess, mission accomplished! It was much tougher than it should have been though. I am very lazy and apparently don't learn from my mistakes, but I really hope I can get back into some basic training the next few months, so I can be at least a bit ready for the couple of half marathons I registered for in October and November.
To finish, I'll just say it's a pretty cool race, one of the first in the local running season. The parts on the road are a little boring, but it also goes through a nice little park. The whole alien/martian theme is funny too, with some runners fully committing to it with costumes and all. As always, I didn't have my phone with me for photos, but I'm sure there will be many on their website soon.
Keep Exhausting!