Did It Again — New PR at the Capitol 10-Miler

Still a bit speechless at this one to be honest. I mean, the goal was to break the magic 10 miles in 60 minutes for the first time in my life. I ended up knocking 2 minutes 20 seconds off my best time, and felt absolutely fantastic in doing so.

The race took place in Richmond, VA. I set the alarm for 3:30am and was on the road by 4:00am – plenty of time to find a parking spot, pick up my race packet and prepare myself in time for the 7:30am start. I probably could have slept in another 30 minutes, but didn’t want to take any chances. The drive was fairly uneventful — not much traffic on the road and plenty of good tunes to keep me company. Anyway, I arrived, as planned, in plenty of time and was able to enjoy an easy 3 mile warm up with strides, butt kicks and skipping to get the blood flowing.

I planned to go out at 6:00/mile pace for the first six miles and if everything felt good, pick up the pace in the last four miles to record a sub-60 minute finish. The race started promptly at 7:30am and within seconds I found myself in about 10th or 11th place. Amazing speed! I settled in to what seemed like goal pace, but had to back off quickly when the young guy by my side said he was shooting for a 55:00 finish. Oops. Maybe a bit quick? My next thought was that I’d end up in no-man’s land — unable to close on the speed demons ahead and too fast for the runners behind. Thankfully, not long after the thought, a pack of 8 or 9 runners closed in on me and it turned out to be a very efficient group.

Mile 1 was a 5:54, slightly ahead of the goal, but way too early to be concerned. The pace was comfortable and the pack still together. Mile 2 came in at 5:56. The pack had moved around a little, but not a single word had been spoken. Quite eery really, with everyone glancing around eyeing up their competition. Very cool.
The pace quickened in the next couple of miles — 5:50 and 5:47. I’d happily taken my turn at the front of the pack and couldn’t help but push things along a little. I also sensed a few of the group were starting to struggle, but didn’t look back to check. Eyes ahead, 100% focus. I don’t remember much about mile 5 to be honest, but do remember crossing the timing mat at the halfway mark — 29:10. I think the 29:10 scared me a little. Just 3 months ago this would have been within a few seconds of my 5 mile PR.

I think the pack was down to 5 or 6 for the next mile. We slowed a little to a 5:48, but I remember thinking “Come on Steve, you can do this.” We were also closing on one of the early front runners who still looked smooth, but was fading fast. I decided to push the pace, try to catch the guy and then start surging for home. Mile 7 *felt* a lot faster, but my Garmin split shows a 5:47, so not sure what happened there.

Fatigue started to settle in during mile 8. I had to use every trick in the book to get my legs moving and keep the momentum going, so on reflection the 5:48 is a good one. Really pleased with myself for digging deep at this stage of the race, when the easy option would have been to back off and coast home.

With two miles to go, I knew, barring a disaster, the sub-60:00 was in the bag and decided to through caution to the wind and put the hammer down. I didn’t check the Garmin at the time (actually, I hardly looked at it during the whole race), but am stoked at the 5:38 split for the 9th mile — the fastest of the whole race.

The final mile was tough. I knew the final quarter mile was a *downhill* to the finish line, but no-one mentioned the cruel uphill to reach the downhill. I felt my cadence slow quite dramatically, but still managed to pull away from the other 3 members of the pack (one of whom was a very strong female runner who ended up winning the women’s race). Eventually, the short, steep climb leveled off and it was time to get the legs back for the final half mile. I rounded the final corner, caught site of the finish line in the distance and kicked it in as quickly as possible, crossing the line a few seconds after 58 minutes for an amazing 58:02.

Kevin (from KaleRunning.com) was there to great me and congratulate me on the finish. We chatted briefly before I headed back to the car to cool down, change clothes and get in line for the free massage. Nice!

I ended up winning my age group, and picked up a rather cool pewter “Jefferson Cup” and a pair of Adidas Supernova Glides for my troubles.

First class event. Perfect weather. Unbelievable finish time.

Surely my amazing streak must end soon, but I’m ever-hopeful I can keep it going another month at least. The marathon PR is there for the taking and I’m desperate to get it at the Marine Corps Marathon in 4 weeks time. Stay tuned for the outcome….

Thanks as always for the support, good wishes and congratulations.

1st 5 miles — 10th position 29:10
2nd 5 miles — 8th position 28:51