10K Today (and Race Videos)

1. Happy
2. Injury
3. Race Prediction
4. Race Strategy
5. Race Video
6. Upcoming Race??


1. HAPPY:
I'm about to take off to the "Victory 10K" just north of downtown Minneapolis. I'm THRILLLLLLLED to be racing, because it's my 10th race in the MDRA "Grand Prix" series! The series is 14 races long, but it only counts your best 10 finishes, so I'll have (technically) completed the series once I finish this race! You don't know how happy I am (or I guess "how happy I'm GOING to be") to be able to have gotten in 10 races relatively injury-free. Seriously. I'm giddy.

2. INJURY:
Speaking of injuries, my heel has been feeling DANG NEAR PERFECT since the Rochester Half Marathon last weekend. Part of that is due to me being really vigilant with the "night splint." I've been wearing that every night for WEEKS, and that keeps my heel nice and loose.

I didn't do any biking or swimming this past week, and I went for an EASY 5 mile run with Henry on Wednesday (4 days post-race). My heel felt GREAT, but my knees were just still super sore - I think because I bonked at the half marathon, I probably started "clomping" with poor form over those last 5-6 miles, and that probably beat-up my knees a bit. Then Henry and I ran 6+ miles on Saturday pretty easy with 3 pick-ups in the middle. My legs still felt a little tired, but NOTHING hurt. I'm ready for this 10K!

3. RACE PREDICTION:
So I've only done TWO 10Ks. I ran a 36:47 at Get in Gear 10K earlier this year (as part of the Grand Prix series), and I ran a 36:46 back in 2009 at the Get Ready to Rock 10K. So I'm pretty confident saying I'll leave the race with a PR or a PW. I suppose it is possible to finish with a race that is right in-between those times, but that would mean I'm the most consistent 10K runner ever. I really don't know what to expect. I thought I was going to PR earlier this year, but then I finished 1 second off of my time from 3 years ago. If I get too hot today, it will get ugly. If my legs are still too tired from the half last weekend, it will get ugly. But if things all fall into place, I could PR. I won't be disappointed with my finishing time unless I totally botch my race strategy. Speaking of which......

4. RACE STRATEGY:
I will NOT go out too hard! I don't want another bonk like at Rochester. I'll try to keep it "easy" for a mile or 2 at all costs. THEN I'll start building the pace.

5. RACE VIDEO:
Curt and Christine Wood have made some sweet videos. (They're the ones that did the awesome Gear West Duathlon Video from 2 years ago. Check that one out if you haven't seen it.) Here's one from the Victory 10K (the race I'm running today) from 2 years ago:

http://vimeo.com/14787685

LOTS of local faces in this, but I wanted to point out Scott at 0:36 with his shades on his head - he's been a "new friend" since I've started the Grand Prix series. And check out that women's form near the end of the video (I'm assuming she's the female winner). She's SMOOTH!

6. UPCOMING RACE??:
If if if if if if if my heel and everything else feels OK after the race today, I'm signing up for my first 25K!!! (15.5 miles.) The "City of Lakes 25K" is next weekend, and it's another race in the Grand Prix series. Here's ANOTHER cool video from Curt and Christine from the race last year. Even if you aren't a local, check out the first 40 seconds which gives me "pre-race nerves" because it's done so well:


http://vimeo.com/29234748

OK, off to the races!!! Check my tweets to see how it goes down, and then check back tomorrow for a race report.

In the meantime, have you entered last weekend's Clif Bar GIVEAWAY?!?