10 miler

today i ran my first >5k race. i ran in the golden fliers 10 miler this morning. it was a double lap race around the lsu lakes. i’ve done this distance and longer before but i’ve never done it in a race. everything changes in a road race. i don’t like being passed by people. this wouldn’t be a problem if a was fast but since i’m not i just try to judge how fast various people will run and then start off with the ones that i think will run at my pace. this usually means the eighty year old runners. of course, it never works out that i actually judge correctly. i always seem to pick the fast 80 year old to hang around and therefore my pace ends up too fast. that’s why races are hard – trying to push myself but not burning out. this means choosing the correct pace. i was worried that i would start out to fast and burn out half way through the race. i finished the race in 1:34:29 (a pace of 9:26/mile). i was pretty pleased because of two things:

  • a had energy left over at the end of the race – which means that i could have continued the pace or a slightly faster one throughout a half-marathon of 13.1 miles.
  • i passed an 80 year old lady in the last 100 yards of the race. i laughed at her while i was passing her and it made her break down and cry. i don’t even think she finished the race. she just walked away in defeat before the finish line. it felt good. đŸ˜‰

now i have to continue training for the first light half marathon january 14th. as things are going presently i think i may even try a full marathon.

my run for the day
distance – 10 miles
total time – 1:34:29
pace – 9:26/mile