So Caitlin and I raced again yesterday. This time, we woke up at 5am and journeyed up to Columbia, MD, to represent our team (DC Road Runners Club) in the RRCA Ten Mile Challenge.
We had no big plans (I was thinking 1:10, she was thinking 1:16:59) as this was just another part of training. The course promised to be “a challenge” with rolling hills through the suburbs of Columbia. Fortunately, we had prepared the night before with what we’d like to now call “Rocket Sauce”; Chris came over for some video games and pasta… He showed us how to make homemade tomato sauce.
Why Rocket Sauce? Well, because we both managed to beat our Cherry Blossom goals (1.5 months early). I finished in 1:07:11 (6:43 pace) and Caitlin finished in 1:12:24 (7:14 pace). How we did it is a complete unknown; I didn’t even know if I was capable of such a time on a good day, and this was just another race that we trained through.
My previous best at this distance was 1:11:58, so I knocked off nearly five minutes. My pace was also faster than my two most recent races (minus the last 10-miler), both shorter distances (6:56 in the 12K and 6:46 in the 10K).
Caitlin’s previous best was 1:17:52, so she improved by just about five and a half. Sillllly.
So now we’re both stuck with figuring out new goals. Certainly not a bad predicament to be in, but it will require some thought.
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