Race Report: MRTC RRS 10 MILER

 

RACE REPORT

MRTC RRS 2^nd 10Miler

DATE/TIME: 23Oct2016@ 0700				RACE COURSE Shelby Forest					Total: 10 miles
1 -06:40.9 Finding Rhythm 2 -07:05.1 3 -06:55.6 Losing Haskins 4 -06:56.1 5 -06:59.3 Passed by Lauren 6 -06:54.8 First Big Hill 7 -07:11.8 Second Big Hill 8 -06:54.7 reeling Haskins 9 -06:55.0 into the ravine 10 -06:38.8 Kick						Narrative: - Keep Haskins in view - It’s not over
Overall 27th of 831	Gender 24th of 378		Age Group 2 of 73		Award 2nd AG			Official Time 1:09:09		Pace 6:54	Bib 984
HEART RATE MAX: 170/181 BPM							Cadence 187Avg/235Max – Avg Stride length 1.23m
TEMP/WEATHER: 45°F at Sunny
Shoe		Nike 2015 Free 5.0 Pink
Attire		Nike 2inch shorts, Nike Dry-fit Pink “Breast Cancer” shirt, Nike - High-Compression socks
Timer		Garmin 225 Forerunner
Injury/Ailment		Twinge right hamstring
Day Before		Slept in. Light 4 miler. Stayed off my feet most of the day.
Pre-Race		Got up at 5AM. Stuff was already packed and ready. Got in a bottle of water and Granola bar. Got to the race at 5:45. Stayed in car for a nap. Got up for a warmup at 6:25 but that only gave me time for a 1.5mile warmup. Not my usual 2miler.
On the Line		Only one goal in mind. “Find Slaba and Haskins.” Found Haskins but no Slaba. I stayed 5yds back of him. All I wanted to do was just keep him in sight so I could somehow keep my 27sec AG lead.
1-5		Gun sounded, I went 6:40 to get the heart up. I was getting passed by Zucker, Hall, and the Breakaway elites. Didn’t care. But, by mile 2 Haskins started pulling away. On the first waterstop, I saw him on the return at least 30 seconds ahead. It got worse on mile 3 by the lake where I was about 40sec behind. Oh well, it was nice having the AG lead for as long as I did. I wasn’t giving up as much as I switch back to thinking about how to run. Being easy and light.
6-9		At mile 5, I got past one last time by my friend Joe Olsen and his buddy, then by Lauren Paquette. Lauren went by so fast. I felt like I was standing still. At first I was a bit dejected by this thin, bouncing, blond deer, “Hey Rome!” as she whiffed by me. But then I though, that’s an Olympic caliber athlete and I was in front of her through half of this race. I held on to Joe and his buddy, drafting them. Just pacing off them. They were going fast but I didn’t look at my watch to psych myself out. But, using their energy would help charge me up.   When I got to the first big hill, I charged it like they did. Strong, upright, under control. “Don’t bend I thought”. After that first hill I saw Haskins now only 100 yrds up. I was losing Joe and his buddy but I kept fighting to get close to them which inadvertently got me even closer to Haskins. By the next big hill at M6, I was only 50yds back. But had I just blown my engine? Mile 7 and 8 he started pulling away again, but he was in sight. Downward into the ravine, Joe was gone and so was Haskins. With the narrow passages and turns, I couldn’t tell how much they pulled away. But when I got to the base of the switchbacks, they weren’t that far up at all, They were at the middle of the switchbacks while I was only at the bottom. By the time I got to the top of the hill, I was only behind Haskins by only 10 yards. My only problem was my engine was blown but so was his. As I recovered so did he. “Okay” I thought. “It doesn’t matter if I beat him”. I have 27seconds to work with. If I raise my level to his, even if I don’t catch him, I won’t lose that much. With only 1/2mile left, I wouldn’t let him pull away. I kept telling myself, “Stay easy, kick hard, fast feet. Match his speed. You win by not pulling anything or getting hurt.” Live to fight another day! The clock read 1:09:04 as he crossed. It read 1:09:14 as I crossed. Only 10 seconds lost. “Holy Cow, I’m somehow still AG #1.” I’m still ahead by 18seconds.
After		Unlike last week’s Greenline Half Marathon, this was all about racing. The time didn’t matter as much as keeping pace with a rival. It felt more like NASCAR or the Tour De France. I talked to Haskins after. He said that he was suffering on the hills. He said that he’s doing NYC Marathon in 2 weeks.
Thoughts		With Slaba not competing and Perez (AG#3) +6Min back, if I can stay with Haskins or establish a lead on the RRS 2nd Half, I might have a chance. I’m actually officially 19sec up, I don’t know how much Haskins is going to have left in the tank.. I’m actually excited for the opportunity. I have a whole month of no racing, a lot of training, recovery and rest time. I should be fresh if I can stay focused and work the plan. I have to play this very smart.