Frigid 10K...Two Races In Two Weekends

Two races in eight days? Why not! One of my 2011 goals is to add variety into my training and racing. The Dallas Running Club monthly race on Saturday seemed like the perfect opportunity to get to work on that. The Dallas Running Club is a nice resource for runners in the Dallas area with affordable membership and eight free races a year. I typically make it out to the January and February races (usually a 10K and 15K) and then find myself trailing off a bit as the distances get shorter. I intend to make it to more of these races this year as it is a great time to work on that 2011 goal.

I went to this race alone because Erik is training for the Cowtown Marathon in late February and needed to run 18 miles on Sunday. I know that I will see many familiar faces at DRC races, so I don't worry too much about going by myself. It was a near perfect morning for running too--40 degrees, a nice sunrise, and very little breeze. I had a great feeling about the day and fully intended to get a new 10K personal record (PR). I only race about two 10Ks a year and my PR race came during the heat of September. While I run in all seasons, I am not a great summer runner...but I tend to thrive in the winter months.

I was eager to try out my new Garmin running watch. This watch can tell me how fast I am currently running and how fast I am running each mile. I have always felt that I run a fairly consistent pace, but had not observed it enough to know for sure. I also feel like I am slowing down at the end, but wonder if it is a perceived slow down because I am more tired at that point.

Here are my mile times from the race:
Mile 1 8:28
Mile 2 8:30
Mile 3 8:38 (hello hilly area)
Mile 4 8:19
Mile 5 8:21
Mile 6 8:08
Last .2 7:38
Total time: 52:39 (7th in Age Group)
Average pace 8:22/mile

I was thrilled to see that I maintained a fairly consistent pace and I could see where the more challenging areas of the terrain were. I am beyond thrilled with mile 6....hello!! Who is that runner?? Looking back, I recall that I was working hard on trying to pass and stay ahead of some runners. That is a little trick that I learned from Erik and one that I will use more often. I felt strong for much of the way and found that I really enjoyed this race. It didn't feel as frantic as a 5K, but not as grueling as a 15K or half marathon. I am looking forward to running more of these this year.

After the race I milled about and said hello to a few friends. I also met Lesley who is one of the runners behind the "Run for the Bling of it Challenge" to run 12 races in 12 months. I was wearing my new New Year's Day Half shirt and found that it was a real conversation starter (and possible PR-setting lucky shirt?). I love the community that running fosters, there are no strangers on race day.

Unfortunately my little racing streak will come to an end because I do not have any races planned for this weekend. However, with the Too Cold To Hold and Houston Half Marathon coming up, we are looking at four out of five race weekends in January. Some call it winter....I call it running season!