A Few Final TC 10 Mile Notes

I posted my race report on Monday, but here are 7 other post-race notes:

• My legs were fine post race! I had a little pain/tightness in my right glute, but that was it. My calves were golden! (Which is rare!) This leads me to my next point...

• I went on one of my slowest runs ever yesterday. Even on "easy" runs over the last year or 2, I still try to keep my pace from being TOO slow. Sometimes I think I need to REALLY start going slow on easy days, but then I remember that my form goes to hell a bit when I run slower, and my foot strikes get worse as well. So I think I'll still run my "easy" runs at more of a "easy/moderate" pace as I have been.

But yesterday, I just TRULY went easy. Normally, I might have 1 or maybe 2 half-mile splits over 4:00, but yesterday's run just had a few that WEREN'T over 4:00. I averaged 8:09/mile:

The pace color on my map is funny because it looks mainly orange and "fast."

• It was unusual NOT to negative split this race, but it's been happening more often lately. It was just a subtle positive split on Sunday with a 31:18 first half and a 31:26 second half, but anything but a negative split hurts extra bad for me. I went out too hard.

My fastest TC 10 Mile (59:05 in 2010) was a positive split. But my next 4 fastest were all negative splits (2011, 2014, 2017, and 2018). But now the last THREE years were all positive splits, and these last 2 especially really hurt. I need to start easier!

I had some running buddies weigh in on this on Twitter:

I'm writing more and more off to age these days... ;)

• Speaking of a "fast final mile" on the TC 10 Mile course, my 5:57 this year was my slowest here! I was a bit slower in 2020, but that was on a made-up course because it was a virtual race. Otherwise, 5:45 in 2021 was my slowest final mile, and my average last mile before this year at the TC 10 mile (excluding 2020 as well on the "made-up" course) was 6:36! And as I noted in my race report, even mile 9 was extra slow this year: 6:22 was my slowest mile 9 as my average over previous races is just under 6:06.

• It's now time to change my shoes. I got a LOT of miles out of my previous pair of shoes, and now my current pair is up to 474 miles:

Less miles, but more "events." That's due to all that short speedwork in June and July.

• Post-race treat: I posted this in yesterday's post about my wife's marathon, but I had to share it again. I was out for breakfast with my sister's family and my folks the day before the race, and Henry had enough to eat and I was trying not to eat crappy because of the race the next day. So we got our donuts to go, and I ate mine as soon as I got home after my 10 mile:

Mine was an apple pie long john and Henry's was a s'more donut!

• Overall, I think the biggest thing I could have done to have had a better race was to just go out slower. I think my fitness was better than the last 2 years, but my time was worse. I'm also hitting that age where better training won't necessarily make the race faster because I'm getting older. I feel like when training is going great, it's just about not GIVING UP time... not about posting a FASTER time than year's past. Time is catching up to me.

Here's my full race report if you missed it!