Capital Pursuit 10 Mile Race Recap
It's been literal years since I've done a race recap so please bear
with me.
Packet Pickup
This was a no frills packet pickup, just a few folding tables inside a local running store. They had a couple of volunteers which made the process quick and painless. My one gripe is that I had to drive 15 min to the store. Obviously not a deal breaker, but one of the primary benefits of this race was that I could walk/run to the start. I wish they would have had a pickup option closer to the actual race course.
Pre Race
I woke up to a weather advisory for strong winds. I hate running in the wind so I wasn't particularly excited but the advisory was set to expire at 8, an hour before start, so I was hopeful the wind would be a non factor.
About 40 min prior to the race, I laced up my shoes and headed out the door. The raw temp was around freezing but the wind made it feel like it was in the teens. My body wanted to run fast to warm up and I had to keep reminding myself to take it easy and save it for the race. I arrived at the start 25 min early which was perfect for hitting the toilets before others arrived but it was quite cold and there was little shelter available. I tried huddling next to buildings to block the wind but wasn't very successful. About 5 min before the race all sorts of runners started appearing. My guess is that they were all staying warm in their cars until the last minute.
Race
Heading into the race, I knew I wanted to try for a new marathon POT. With the new cutoffs, that meant a finish time <1:24:30, roughly 8:30/mile. Earlier this summer I ran a very hilly and humid 7 mile race with an 8:34 pace. I took this as good enough evidence to push for the POT but really had no idea how or if it would work. At the very least, I wasn't worried about failing because the only real risk was the second half turning into an all out suffer-fest and us runners aren't scared of a little pain. Would the weather support a faster time? Had I gained enough fitness in the last 3 months? Would I go out too fast and blow up before the finish?
I was a bit scared by the course elevation graph. There are no hills in my immediate area so I rarely run them. My plan was to take it slow the first half and just try to survive. Once I made it halfway, I could re-evaluate and, if nothing else, use gravity to get me across that finish line.
Start - Since I wanted a slow start, I lined up in the middle of the pack. This worked up until the start gun went off
. Turns out, I don't like having others in front of me control my pace so I quickly weaseled myself out of the pack.
Mile 1 (7:53) - Whoops! That was way too fast.
I did have a slight downhill and a tailwind but I needed to rein it in.
Mile 2 (8:13) - Slightly better but still a tad fast. I knew there were uphills coming and planned to take those as an opportunity to slow down.
Mile 3 (8:36) - Right where I needed to be.
Mile 4 (8:36) - Wow, that's pretty consistent and fortunately the elevation graph just has a really poor scale and the hills weren't actually all that bad.
Mile 5 (8:12) - I'm still feeling good and the worst of the hills are behind me. Total time is 41:30 and I know that I still have a shot at <1:24:30.
Mile 6 (8:25) - This mile was mentally tough. Even though I was past halfway, every step was literally a step further from the finish line as the crow flies and I just kept wondering when we would turn around and head back. I also was nearly hit by a car during this mile so that rattled me up quite a bit.
Mile 7 (8:12) - Yay! I finally I turned around!
Mile 8 (8:08) - Still on track but ready to be done. Where are those downhills that I earned? 🗺
Mile 9 (7:57) - I'm going to make it
but still very confused how there could possibly still be an entire mile left
Mile 10 (7:44) - Literally felt like I was running through molasses
. Absolutely nothing left in the tank but I DID IT! 1:22:52!!
3/16 age group
15/88 female
75/206 overall
Post Race
I crossed the finish line and was ready to collapse but first I had to find some water and snacks. Because it was so cold, we wasted no time before heading to the post race party at the local brewery. Unfortunately, we were limited to a tiny space and even though we were some of the first people there, there were no seats left so that was a real bummer. I enjoyed my free beer and hung around long enough for the awards but after that I spent the rest of the day on the couch. All in all, not a bad Sunday but I really hope I'm not that spent after the half in January.
Final Thoughts
I'm really pleased with my performance. I probably could have paced myself better but considering my first half and second half splits are within a few seconds, I'm not that worried about it. It's the first race this year that I felt really showcased my current fitness.
As for the race itself, I'm not so sure. The roads were not closed and while there were police and volunteers at most intersections, I was still very wary after my near miss. It is the only 10 miler I know of in the area so I could see myself running it again but I won't be seeking it out.
On a positive note, I did get a shiny new medal which Bucky was kind enough to model for me
. I think some are planning to take mid day naps and I already warned the others that they may catch me getting some rest at the hall of presidents.
and included a hike up a pretty big hill to one of the most iconic sites of the Galapagos but I already forget what it was called 
. 
.
). Also, it ended up taking over 90 minutes for me to get that far so while I didn't hit the mileage, I was on my feet for more time than expected. 
Ughhh. I always have a problem getting back into running after vacation and this time was no different. I'm pretty good at running while on vacation but getting back into the habit is routinely a struggle. 
