IBM Uptown Classic

So, since I've only been back running since last Tuesday, it was lofty to have even signed up for the IBM 10K. But, I wanted to be with my friends, and I needed to get about 10 miles in anyway in my super-quick-ramp-up-to-Dallas schedule. I have, no doubt, lost some fitness, so running a steady 6 miles I figured was going to be difficult with the urge to walk a water stop or two entirely too attractive...

I loved that there was no 4:30am wakeup for this race. No bike to worry about, no long list of things to double & triple check in my transition bag. I got to sleep in a bit, throw on some shoes & was basically out the door with no stress. Plus, I knew I didn't want to race - that just wasn't even possible after only 3 runs in the last 3 weeks, and in retrospect, I've never really "raced" a 10K. I'm not sure why this distance bothers me, but I suppose it's because it's too short not to run hard & too long to go out too fast at the start and still have anything left at the end. My 5K "tri" pace is somewhere between 8:15-8:30 on a good day (yeah, I know, not very fast), and my MGP is about 9:30. But I did want to at least try to run this as a progressive pace run so that I would have some sort of goal to make sure I didn't start out too fast & fizzle at mile 6.

After a 2.5 mile warmup & some time with the TP roller (a new ritual for me before/after every run) it was time to line up in the starting shute & wait for the start.

Maintaining pace for me is a tricky thing, even with my handy GPS, so I started at a comfortable speed that allowed me to weave around lots of folks at the start, and still keep my breathing in check. At about mile 2 I spotted Robin just a few feet ahead of me and wondered if she was going to maintain the pace or if she was saving some for the end. I decided that if I just kept her in my sights then I would be okay.

And at mile 4 I looked at my average pace & was really quite shocked. I was on course to PR, and I wasn't even pushing myself too hard. So, here's the breakdown:

Mile 1 - 8:50
Mile 2 - 8:48
Mile 3 - 8:47
Mile 4 - 9:15 (hill, oops)
Mile 5 - 8:45
Mile 6 - 8:35

Overall - 55:04
Avg Pace - 8:53
PR by 15 seconds

I'll take it. By no means am I disappointed. I need these small victories as I get my ass back in shape & prepare for Dallas. I am due for my first-ever 20 mile run the same weekend as San Antonio. I am debating just signing up for it so I can be on a supported course with my running buddies & all the fan-fare that comes with a big race. We'll see...