I had a busy Friday at work… so busy I forgot to eat and had two cups of coffee instead. Huh? Yes, by the time I ate (too much but too delicious) I was in dire need to get some sleep. Beeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeep 6 am!!! Time to roll down and up for the 10k!
As I was ready to head out to the park… my tummy makes some noise. Some grumbling. Some fast trip back to the bathroom, and lightning, I hushed out wondering how (if) my stomach would hold out through the race, or even til I got to some portapotties on the course. Stoopid way to start the weekend.
As soon as I got to the course, hurried again to the smelly boxes, which were surprisingly empty and cozy. Ah, relief again. Now I was empty and feeling a lot better, but… I have to race like this?
Saw some friends, dropped my bag, and hurried around to the start where I grabbed 2 cups of Gatorade and prayed they didn’t mess me up more than I was. I run by the competitive corral, saw my friend Jeremy (thanks for the pics J!) and Meb, Ryan, Bobby, and Abdi were warming up with a lot of the other locals. Way to line up already feeling really slow!!!!
Got to my corral, looked around for a buddy, saw no one and in a second it was time to go! I AM NOT READY!!!!!! I really needed some fuel in my tummy. I felt depleted from the start. But at least I had nothing on me anymore that would make me stop,oh the silver lining!
I had no idea what I would do but I had reasoned this: my 10K PR is from last year, 7:20, but I am NOT in that shape now. My overall pace in the 4 miler two weeks ago was 7:20, and the half I did in 7:52. I thought 7:40 overall was a solid bet.
Mile 1 hits me at 7:26. oooopsie. crap.
Sidenote: I just screamed!!! Checked out the MOTOACTV page to see the stats for this post and it tells me the steps I took!!!!! This is PHENOMENAL to know your cadence!!! I had an average cadence of 196 (which translates into VERY HIGH. And REALLY GOOD.) INSANE. I am in shock. Please share in this happiness even if you have no clue what I am talking about (I guess really understanding biomechanics and putting it to practice properly really does work!).
That is hmmmm, a bit fast, given it was the same pace I did in the 4 miler two weeks ago. Hmmm. I truck along. My friend Patricia catches up to me and we chat. Well, she chats, I tell her to go and make plans to meet at the finish.
Mile 2: 7:18. Patricia had dragged me along for a bit… Saw a lot of friends on the sidelines cheering and was tempted to stop… but didn’t. I figured it was not. Mile 3: 7:27, it starts getting old. I figured I needed to find some comfortable pace and sit there for a bit. I was not gonna give up completely but this race wasn’t happening. I went through my mental shopping catalog of what I could promise myself to get if I did well and found nothing. I really do have everything… That is NOT good! Mile 4: 8:05, oh well, I’ll be doing another 10K in three weeks anyway, so… this one was definitely NOT happening. I searched down and I couldn’t find any fuel, or strength, or anything to push with, I was empty. And mile 4 always sucks. Mile 5: 7:36, this will be all over before I even know it. By then, I had found my comfortable zone, I was ok, but I knew I was gonna have to start pushing a bit soon.. eeeek. Mile 6: 7:32, really nothing left, oh effing well. Mile .2: 1:38, pace of 7:18. I was done. Stopped the clock a few seconds early even. No dry heaving, no sense of IdidallIcould, it was more like, where is the food and why on earth did I wake up today?
So, almost two minutes over my PR but a 7:36 overall. NOT bad. And anything over a 65%AG is always fabo for me!!!
The Stats:
Finish time: 47:11. Average Pace: 7:36
Previous PR: 45.30. From: June 2011.
Age Grading: 65.41%
Overall Place: 1285 of 7918
Gender Place: 158 of 3737
Age Place: 20 of 599
Still, it was a gorgeous day in the park and I was glad I was out there. Met with my friends, hang out, took some pics, and watched the awards! Then spent some time in the sun and I was tired and ready to eat, finally, and enjoy the weekend. It’s like this 10 never happened.
The awards ceremony!
The top three women!
Bobby Curtis coming right up, placed #3 overall!
Korir, #2 overall, who was also graduating that day, the same morning, so his parents had flown in from Kenya and got on stage too. It was very moving, the guy was graduating, seeing his parents he hadn’t seen in three years, and also came in #2 in a race.Someone deserves a boston creme!!!
Daniel Meucci, from Italy, who WON the race in a 28:28, 4:36 pace, Korir came in at 28:30, and Bobby at 28:37. Love Italians (gotta say that or my parents will kick me!)
The rest of the placing (top 15):
MeucciDanieleM267NIKE ITA1110:28:280:14:1704:360:28:28394.32 %KorirLeonardM258 New RochelleNYKEN2220:28:300:14:1704:360:28:30494.25 %CurtisBobbyM275REEBArdmorePAUSA3330:28:370:14:1804:370:28:37793.87 %GirmaTesfayeM2967WSXBRONXNYETH4440:28:380:14:0604:370:28:36693.89 %AbdirahmanAbdiM353NIKETucsonAZUSA5510:28:560:14:1704:400:28:19294.85 %St. LawrenceBenM306NEWBCentennial Park AUS6610:28:590:14:1704:400:28:55992.89 %KeflezighiMebM371NYACMammoth LakesCAUSA7720:29:080:14:1804:420:28:09195.43 %OkariGilbert KengabiM33669UATHJACKSON HEIGHTSNYKEN8820:29:150:14:1704:430:28:551092.86 %Tabor NebsiMengstiM34932WSXNEW YORKNYETH9930:29:230:14:3104:440:28:54892.91 %RuttoHenry KiplagatM29763UATHJACKSON HEIGHTSNYKEN101050:29:310:14:2004:460:29:291191.09 %Assefa DubeTesfayeM28134WSXBronxNYETH111160:29:320:14:1904:460:29:321290.93 %BayleyMattM23160New RochelleNYAUS121210:29:350:14:4604:460:29:351390.76 %YigezeZembabaM28969WSXBRONXNYUSA131370:30:080:14:4304:520:30:081489.12 %CastilleKevinM4010JRWSNicholasvilleKYUSA141410:30:100:14:5604:520:28:31594.20 %HallRyanM292ASICReddingCAUSA151580:30:150:14:4304:530:30:141588.85 %
Now the celebrities!!!!
NYC loves Meb and Ryan!! Great morning to be out there… it was 80 degrees… Now hoping my kidneys, or whatever it was, decide not to drive me crazy next week for the Brooklyn Half. I have very HIGH expectations for the half. (Ok, at LEAST 65% AG?!?!). Fingers crosses. And no more sugar and junk food. Okay, WHO are we kidding!?!?!?
Healthy Kidney 10K: Is it my kidneys?
runningandthecity 