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Amherst 10 Miler

February 25, 2018 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
Yea totally wish we ran this yesterday. There was sleet on the ground when I woke up, and the rain was coming down pretty hard. Just looked like a dreary day. Regardless, I got myself ready with extra dry layers and went through with biking over to the Middle School. It only took 10 minutes but I was cold and wet by the time I got there. The crowd was way smaller than last year, I think people chickened out cause of the rain. I got there latish and didnt even warm up because I didnt want to get any wetter. With 15 min before, I went with the flats and shorts and whoever was there headed to the start line. Rain was still coming down. Did a short jog over to the start line but really planned on using the first few miles as a warm up for the race, since I wasnt too confident about going the full 10. Even though I was wet, legs felt good and ready to go. I went with flats since my trainers have so much on them, I didnt want my legs or feet to start hurting midway though. Plus, I didnt need any extra weight because my layers were weighing me down. Started out in the back and kept the pace easy, near training pace. It was hard to do since everyone else around me was racing, but I really focused on staying controlled and comfortable so that I had what I needed to finish. First two miles actually sucked, could feel shin splints in my right leg. Maybe from the flats. I seem to remember that happening last year too. It ended up working itself out though, and felt fine on the uphill into the 5k. That mile was pretty slow. I also had to pee pretty bad, kept going up to the reservoir then peeled off onto a logging road. The group I was with got way ahead of me and I came back out with people I was running with in the first mile. Jumped right back into the race and picked up the pace significantly to fast than what I was at before. 5 and 6 were quick, and by 7 I had passed the group I was with. Kinda weird for them seeing me pass them again. After 8, I was all alone on the stretch back to Amherst, and I was holding the pace that I wanted. Worked alone, started to feel some fatigue. It wasnt fast legs racing though, I never felt revved up. Maybe because my legs were numb from the cold or I had an extra few pounds of wet clothes on, but it was just a slug up the last few hills and kick into the finish. The folks behind me were pretty far back, and I had one guy kinda close to me to bring me in, but it wasnt really a fast finish. I was mostly looking to finish on pace. Came through right at what I though, and it was suprisingly close to last year, even with the different training schedule. Kinda cool. Ran a real strategic race, showing I do have some reserves to work off of. Gun time was 1:12:20, about 2 mins slower than my actual time, I would have been around 50th place or so I think. Splits overall were: 7:07, 7:08, 7:28, 7:21, 7:08, 6:50, 6:38, 6:52, 6:55, 6:55

Essentials: Stretch

I made my way back to the middle school as fast as I could, legs were feeling shot right at the finish though. Could quickly feel that cold creeping in. I was soaked from head to toe. The roads were not that muddy, but they were wet and people were kicking up a lot of puddles and water. I did a little shake out in the hallway and stretched in the cafeteria, just so I didnt get to tight. Main goal was to get back and get out of my wet clothes. Biking back was miserable. I got just as soaked as I did in the race and my hands were numb. Glad I actually got up and faced the elements today, and found that my fitness is about what it was last year. This isnt a bad baseline/defult shape to be in, knowing I can go out there and rip off 7:00 without too much effort. I know I had to put it something to get here though and I am content with that.