Racing a 10K This Weekend!

It's our 2nd "team circuit" race of 2023 this weekend: the "Get in Gear 10K!"

Last year, I was really disappointed with this race. I think the rain slowed me down, but more than that was the fact that I went out too hard, and then surged too hard in the middle - those last miles were BRUTAL and SLOW when I was expecting to be able to speed up. (My first 2 miles were my fastest at last year's race, and it should NOT be that way! That's not how I successfully race!)

In my 2 other races eariler this year, I went out MUCH MORE APPROPRIATELY. At the indoor 5000 meters, I was able to use the repetition on the track to post some very even splits (all five 1000 meter splits were within 0:03!), and then I made it a point to start out easier at the Hot Dash 5K, and it served me well.

Now, truth be told, I maybe COULD have ran a BIT faster at each of those races if I started faster, but I was still happy with my times. And I didn't suffer too hard (or worse: crash and burn). I KIND OF crashed and burned with ascending splits at my previous indoor 5000 where I ran a SLOWER time, so I improved on TIME and PACING this year. And same with my previous Hot Dash 5K from 5 years ago where I started too hard and REALLY crashed and burned: 5:41 opening mile which I was hoping to hold, but then slowing to 6:04 and 6:09 for the final 2 miles. I finished 0:45 faster this year by (again) not starting too hard! (My splits this year were 5:45, 5:42, and 5:45. Nice!)

Alright... so what does that all have to do with this weekend's 10K? My point with all of this is that I KNOW that I NEED to start off easy. It's been working for me this year already. Last year I hit the first half mile in 2:45 and wasn't concerned about that (I SHOULD have been concerned!). This year, I'll be shooting for around 3:00, which doesn't sound like much, but it treats my body SO much better after a few more miles.

After starting "easier," I need to keep those middle miles strong. I don't want to be too concerned about my 5K split at this 10K (last year, it was 18:58 when I was shooting for 18:30-18:40), but I just want to make sure I've got enough "fuel left in the tank" at that point. Then get up that hill coming up by St. Thomas, DON'T bomb down the other side like I did last year, but then keep those miles STRONG heading back south on River Road (mile 3.5 to 5.5, which are splits 7-11 on this map):

Last year's Garmin pace, hoping for LOTS more red in the closing miles!

One of the big differences between this race and my previous 2 this year is that I really want to make the last few miles hurt. I really want to be able to hold on to more PAIN and keep my pace strong! At both the indoor 5000 meters and the Hot Dash 5K this year, I raced HARD, but I didn't kill myself around the 3K to 4K point in the race. At this race, I really hope I can hit a pace where I'm really suffering and really hitting a decent pace in that section heading south on River Road. Let's see if I can do that!

I haven't raced that many 10Ks. It's a hard distance for me. My 10K PR is 36:30 from a short Minneapolis Halloween Half race in 2018. My more legitimate 10K PR is from my FIRST 10K in 2009 which was 36:46 (my shortest race report ever!). And in then in 2012, I ran my fastest "Get in Gear" 10K just one second off my PR at 36:47. I think I'm getting too old to run this distance very well anymore (a distance I never felt that I mastered in the first place). If it's not too cold and wet, I'd LOVE to be anywhere around 37:00 this weekend!! (If the weather's not great, it could creep closer to last year's time of 37:56, but I hope not!) I cannot shoot for a 36:30 PR as that never really happened anyway (short course), but I supposed there's a CHANCE that I could be near my "real" PR (of 36:46) on a PERFECT day. That's NOT a goal though, as that will make me go out too hard. I'll really have to see how the last half of the race shapes up. And how much suffering I can hold on to!

Start easier, don't worry about slower splits for the first few miles, keep the pace strong in the middle, and suffer a lot in the last half! EASY! ;)

(Besides those 3 10Ks all in 36:xx, my other 10K races were a 10K pushing Henry in the stroller in 2012 in 37:16, the 2022 Get in Gear in 37:56 [wet and chilly], and the 2012 Victory 10K in 38:02 [hot]. So I suppose being this will be my 7th 10K, there's a decent chance it will land right in the middle of all my 10Ks: slower than 36:47 and faster than 37:16 will mean I've ran 3 slower and 3 faster. But that's NOT a "given" - I'll still have to work hard and really suffer to hit that window, so we'll have to see what happens!!)