Highland YMCA 10K- Sunday, January 16

I learned some rather valuable lessons from this experience. First of all, do pack food that you will actually consume on the day of the race and days that you do long runs. Luckily Ma and Pop had some instant oatmeal and a good old banana handy. I did pack my Cliff Bar and had some Gu and my water bottle filled with Gatorade Endurance. But I forgot the breakfast food.

I left 5 minutes before they closed down registration, thinking that I would find a parking space. I ended up parking where I could have walked to the race. I literally sprinted out of the car to make it to registration. Found out that I didn't have to run and that nervous energy really sapped me for my race. I did an OK warm-up and ran close to where the finish line was so that I could keep that in my head to prepare me for the last bit of the race.

Also, don't forget to set your zones. I totally had to guess mine so I went to I think a 70 to 80% zone using the first formula that I learned from my New York Road Runners Book.

Even though I brought the bottle of Endurace, I didn't strap on my hydration pack. Doh! It was rather warm out there. High 60s in January. Shit. It's not even like this in the City.

It was hilly and sunny. The first part. More or less, I took it as if I was doing a regular Sunday run. I knew most of the route though the new developments made things and landmarks unfamiliar. It was practically the route of the schoolbus that I took in elementary school.

Here are my stats:

Total time: 1:01.27 (one hour and one minute and 27 seconds)
Total miles: 5.78 miles (OK, it might be a tad off from the usual 6.2 miles in a 10K)
Average heart rate: 151 beats per minute
Average pace: 10:38 minutes per mile (slow)
Time in heart rate zone: 54:39 minutes
Time above in heart rate zone: 2:18 minutes
Time below in heart rate zone: 3:43 minutes
Best pace: 8:24 minutes per mile

First split at mile 1:
Time: 10:22.56 minutes
Average heart rate: 148 beats per minute
Pace: 10:55 minutes per mile (this was the hilly start)

Second split at 3 mile turn around for 10K and Half Marathon on Greenspot Road:
Time from first spit to second split: 21:14.22 minutes
Total time so far: 31:36.78 minutes
Average heart rate: 151 beats per minute
Pace: 10:37 minutes per mile (nice downhill on Weaver to dump into Greenspot Road. Greenspot rather flat)

Final Spit taken at finish:
Time from second spit to finish: 29.50:55
Average heart rate: 156 beats per minute
Pace: 10:33 minutes per mile (that last bit of the race where you turn from Greenspot to Church...a deceptive uphill where it looks flat but it goes up. Luckily I did that as part of my warm-up so I knew when to gun it. I didn't do such a strong finish. I so needed salts at this point. Or sugars. Something other than water for God's sake!)

Here's some thing I dug up from past races:

251 76/83 Edna Flores 25 WASHINGTON DC 1:04:52 Capitol Hill Classic, May 3, 1998
1060 180/202 Edna Flores 24 Washington DC 1:07:55 Georgetown Classic, October 5, 1997

These were past 10K times from races I did years ago in Washington, DC. My first 10K was the Georgetown Classic. There was one time I did the Chinatown YMCA Chinese New Year Run, my first one, as a 10K but I couldn't find my time. But I have come a pretty long way from a one hour and seven minute finish time.

One encouraging thing I did see. The advent of running clubs in elementary schools, especially within the wake of cutting quality PE time from public schools and childhood obesity. Too bad most of these clubs are in an affluent suburban public school system. I ended up talking to a counselor at my old junior high who has done a total of 9 marathons and had some of her kids, 6th grade students, run with her (my junior high is now a middle school). She is planning to take some of her kids and their parents to watch the LA Marathon this March.

Next goal after Chinatown YMCA is to run a 10K under an hour. Can that be done? Sure!