Sunday, November 14, 2010

Race Report: Founder's Day Distance Dare (10K + 5K)

I ran the Founder's Day Distance Dare at Celebration this morning. The distance dare consisted of running a 10K race at 7:30 am, followed by a 5k race at 9:15 am. It was tough. I'm really not in racing shape for either of these distances, but I ran my heart out and I'm very pleased with the outcome. I didn't PR at either distance, but considering most of my recent runs have been in the 12 min/mile pace, I'm pleased that I ran each race only a few minutes slower than my current PRs and closer to an 11 min/mile pace. My total time for the distance dare of 1:44:49 did earn me a 5-minute 15k PR and I finished 93 / 124 in the distance dare.

Pre-Race
When I woke up, my running skirt was still damp, but I draped it over a box fan and it was dry by the time we left.  It was a bit cold, so I wore my arm warmers, headband, and buff, but not long pants since I knew I'd regret it after a few miles of hard running. We got to Celebration around 7 am, parked and walked to the start about 1/2 mile away.  I ran an easy mile to warm up, then ate a gu as I walked to the start. Jason wasn't racing, so he brought his nifty new video camera to capture the moment. 

Race #1 - 10K
The 10K course was gorgeous. We ran along a golf course and then through residential streets. The last mile and a half was along a narrow sidewalk and I think that slowed me down a bit, along with the side stitch I was nursing for at least half the race. I no longer have a Garmin, so I used a stop watch and took manual splits every time I passed a mile marker. I pushed pretty hard throughout, took a Gu Roctane at mile 4, and finished strong with a really fast sprint to the finish. All things considered, I'm thrilled I missed a PR by only 1:12.

  • overall = 865 / 1092
  • ag = 67 / 101
  • gender = 430 / 611
  • clock = 1:10:49
  • chip = 1:09:47 (11:13)
  • splits = 11:47 - 11:49 - 11:05 - 11:26 - 10:53 - 10:41 - 2:08 (these are splits from my stop watch. I logged this run on the iPhone as well, but I'm not sure of it's accuracy since it says I ran 6.4 miles. If that's true, it's definitely a PR, but I'm going with the official results.)

Race #2 - 5K
By the time I finished the 10K, caught my breath, and drank some water, I still had 30 minutes to go before the 5K start. That's plenty of time for your muscles to cool down, so I kept walking around the parking lot to keep the blood flowing and took another Gu Roctane 10 minutes before the start. I knew there was no way I'd PR at the 5K because my legs were already pretty tired, but I was going to give it all I had. The time flew by, but I was tired and had a side stitch for most of the race, so I had positive splits (rare for me). I just couldn't find the energy or strength to push any harder and my finish wasn't as strong as the first time, but I'm still pretty pleased with my performance.

  • overall = 403 / 302
  • ag = 31 / 58
  • gender = 205 / 427
  • clock = 35:02 (11:16)
  • watch = 34:50 (there was no mat at start so official results list the same time for clock and chip)
  • splits = 11:12 - 11:15 - 11:28 - 0:55

Post-Race
I grabbed some water and a banana then kept walking around the parking lot while Jason gathered his things. My legs were pretty sore at this point, so I wanted to keep moving so they wouldn't give up on me. We were both starving, so we quickly walk to the car and drove to the nearest Perkins and made massage appointments for the afternoon. We just got back and I feel wonderful :) 

Closing Remarks
I enjoyed this race and will probably do the 10K again. The announcer called out your name as you crossed the finish line, for both races--that was a really nice touch. The 5K was ok, but included the worse parts of the 10K so not sure I'd do the distance dare again. Plus I've kinda come to hate the 5k distance. I just have no interest in running that fast. 

I tried something new on race day today, and it went better than expected. I raced in my new SkirtSports Gym Girl Ultra running skirt, and I'm really impressed. I had tried it on at the store, and ran around the parking lot of my apartment yesterday to test it, but this was it's first real test. It has real compression shorts underneath and they stay put! There is a pocket on each side of the shorts that is perfect for gels and my iPhone. I could run a marathon in this skirt and not worry about chafing or being uncomfortable. Now I just need one in a fun color that's not black or pink =P

Jason did not run the race, but he came to support me and put together this fun video.


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