Ten Plus Ten: A Tale of Two Runs

20.2 miles total.

First 10.2 miles @ 7:22/mile overall pace.
Paved roads.
Very hilly.
Lower teens, very windy. Sunny.

Second 10.0 miles (Race).
1:09:24.
6:57/mile pace.
Overall: 88th out of 660.
Age group (30-34M): 12 out of 34.
Paved roads.
Very hilly.
Mid teens, very windy. Sunny.

Plan today was to run the course of the Mid Winter Ten Mile Classic course twice. Once before the race, time the ending of that run to the start of the race, and then run the race. It turned out I got lost during the first part of the pre-race run, due to not paying attention. Still got in 10.2 miles though, and simply backtracked the way I came. Windchills were likely below zero when I started. It was frigid, but I was dressed fine. Plan was to kick in the last four miles at marathon pace. That's what happened, in addition to mile 4 being at MP.

Splits for pre-race 10.2 mile run:

Mile 1: 8:00
Mile 2: 7:53
Mile 3: 7:35
(extra .2 miles here, due to taking wrong turn, GPS turned off. Pace about same as mile 3)
Mile 4: 7:13
Mile 5: 7:28
Mile 6: 7:25
Mile 7: 7:07
Mile 8: 6:59
Mile 9: 7:03
Mile 10: 6:45

My timing worked out well, as this run ended with just ten minutes before the start of the race. Was able to swig some water and eat a banana before the start of the race.

Splits for the race:
Mile 1: 7:06
Mile 2: 7:12
Mile 3: 6:54
Mile 4: 6:38
Mile 5: 6:37
Mile 6: 6:49
Mile 7: 6:58
Mile 8: 6:49
Mile 9: 6:47
Mile 10: 6:53

Was very pleased with both runs. Great confidence booster for BQ'ing for sure. Felt good during both runs. Race segment was a little tough, but what do you expect? I felt as if I could have kept going and kept up the pace.

Special thanks to Mark who originally suggested I do this. I probably wouldn't have otherwise. It was a great workout and also a good indicator of where I'm at with my running.

Three weeks to go to the Hyannis Marathon. The hay is in the barn and the taper begins now.