<p>With my big race (Cherry Blossom) in less than a month, I really needed to get a longer race under my belt in order to better figure out what kind of pace I should run. The club’s Burke Lake 12k would be that race.</p>
<p>My goal for the Cherry Blossom is a 1:15. That’s 7:30 per mile for 10 of them. I told myself I’d go out at 7:30s for this race and pick up the pace to whatever I could do on the second half. As soon as we began, that plan went out the window as I found myself running a regular old race of doing the most I could.</p>
<p>It was a cold an muddy day, but I still managed to hold a 6:53 pace. <a href=”http://connect.garmin.com/activity/154950496″>My GPS says otherwise</a> (says I barely ran over 7 miles), but the course is certified so I trust them more than a device strapped to my wrist; it’s a trail run so there’s a lot of room for error when contacting satellites through trees. That’s ummm… Likely good for about a 1:07 in the Cherry Blossom, which is only 3 minutes off what I consider the best race of my life.</p>
<p>… I’m in pretty damned good shape …</p>
<p>I ran the race with the heart rate monitor, which has me maxing at 173. That’s absurdly low, but I think it’s a real measurement at this point. It was in the final seconds of the race in which I gave it 100% effort and hit that peak. I’ve done even more research and it means absolutely nothing performancewise; everybody’s heart has a different max and they can vary greatly. It’s what you’re capable of at a percentage of your max that matters. So it’s true… I have a giant/slow pump.</p>
<p>I placed 8th overall after overtaking a guy I was trailing by 15 seconds the entire race in the last half mile. That felt really good (mentally… physically it was a hell of a push). I also placed 2nd in my age group… The first time running in 30-39, which led to a funny moment…</p>
<p>They announced the 20-29 group first. A friend of mine placed 2nd and I knew I beat him so I was prepared to walk up for first prize. When they didn’t announce my name I said aloud “Hey, what about me?” Bear in mind I’m a club board member and I know the race director well… I walk up, take a look at his placing sheet, he says “What’s you age?” and then it strikes me… As of two weeks ago, I’m 30. New age group. I explain the situation, the crowd gets a laugh, and I accept my proper medal a minute later.</p>
<p>So what to do for Cherry Blossom? I don’t want to kill myself so I think I’ll go out at a 7:15 pace and see how I feel. If my GPS was correct and the course was actually short, I only ran a 7:17 pace and I’d rather be safe than sorry. 7:17 + mud (instead of fast pavement) – shorter distance = 7:15 is safe. If I feel good halfway through, I can always pick it up. Regardless, I’m not setting a PR so I’d rather have a fun race than a painful one.</p>
<p>Before that big day, though, I’ll still show for the Fort Hunt 10k next Sunday. It’s a road course so it should give me a much better indication of what I can do.</p>