Saturday, August 05, 2006
The Old Soldier’s Day Race (10K)
The Old Soldier’s Day Race
Willis Park, Alpharetta, GA
#379 10K 47:47.6
I had a milestone run on Thursday, dropping the time that it takes me to complete my regular running route under the sixty-minute mark. Even as I was celebrating that performance, I was worried the effort would leave me in less than ideal shape for the race coming up Saturday morning. I was definitely dragging a little Friday and skipped most of my workout in the gym, just doing an easy half-hour on the elliptical trainer.
The weather has been oppressively hot here all week, even in the early morning hours, but I caught a break when a front moved in Friday night and Saturday dawned with the temperatures a bit milder and the air seeming just a bit fresher.
The first half of the course was over city streets. I found myself running the first couple of miles at an almost 7:00 pace. I was feeling pretty bushed as I hit the 5K mark and we turned into the park for the final half of the race. Who would have thought that the rolling asphalt trail would be that much harder? I had to exert a lot of effort to keep the pace up.
The last couple of miles were especially hard for some reason. There were just a couple of people visible in front of me and I was just able to hang with them, and I was just hanging on for dear life. When we turned on the final stretch I attempted to give a final kick toward the finish and pass one more person, but I had left it all out on the course. The runner I was attempting to pass however had plenty left and was not going to hear of it.
I did manage to meet my goal of running a 10K in under 50 minutes. That qualifies me for placement in Time Group 1a again in the Peachtree next year!
Willis Park, Alpharetta, GA
#379 10K 47:47.6
I had a milestone run on Thursday, dropping the time that it takes me to complete my regular running route under the sixty-minute mark. Even as I was celebrating that performance, I was worried the effort would leave me in less than ideal shape for the race coming up Saturday morning. I was definitely dragging a little Friday and skipped most of my workout in the gym, just doing an easy half-hour on the elliptical trainer.
The weather has been oppressively hot here all week, even in the early morning hours, but I caught a break when a front moved in Friday night and Saturday dawned with the temperatures a bit milder and the air seeming just a bit fresher.
The first half of the course was over city streets. I found myself running the first couple of miles at an almost 7:00 pace. I was feeling pretty bushed as I hit the 5K mark and we turned into the park for the final half of the race. Who would have thought that the rolling asphalt trail would be that much harder? I had to exert a lot of effort to keep the pace up.
The last couple of miles were especially hard for some reason. There were just a couple of people visible in front of me and I was just able to hang with them, and I was just hanging on for dear life. When we turned on the final stretch I attempted to give a final kick toward the finish and pass one more person, but I had left it all out on the course. The runner I was attempting to pass however had plenty left and was not going to hear of it.
I did manage to meet my goal of running a 10K in under 50 minutes. That qualifies me for placement in Time Group 1a again in the Peachtree next year!
