The Perfect 10: Perfectly Wet!

I was supposed to run the Susquehanna River Half Marathon yesterday, but it was cancelled due to a tropical storm. This did not come as a surprise to me as the course runs over a mile-long bridge and the forecast called for gusts of over 35 mph. Thankfully I was able to cancel my hotel room with no penalty and the race offered a 50% voucher towards next year's event. I was really excited about the course so I hope to do it next year.

So instead of running the half marathon yesterday, I ran a local ten-mile race day called "The Perfect 10." Runners choose between a 10K or a 10 miler. I had run this same course back in 2015, also as a backup race for a half marathon that was canceled due to weather. My time was 1:15:31 back then. I reviewed my Strava data to get re-acquainted with the course profile and I remembered running a really strong race.

Why is this race always my backup and not my goal race? Mainly because it's not in a particularly exciting location, or a location that's new to me. It's also quite hilly. And I prefer half marathon tune-up races over 10 mile races. But I do enjoy races put on by our local running store, Potomac River Running. I knew the race would be well managed and I'd probably know other runners.

I received the cancellation email when I woke up on Friday morning. I registered for the 10 miler that same day and went to pick up my bib. On Saturday morning the storm was in full swing so I did my shakeout run on the treadmill: an easy 30 minutes.

Before the Race
I was quite indecisive about my outfit. On the one hand, it was forecast to be 62 degrees, which meant shorts and a sports bra. On the other hand, it was supposed to be rainy and windy which meant it would feel colder. I remembered the Firecracker 5K from July when I raced in a wet tank top and the cooling effect it had. So I figured I would wear a form-fitted tank top and longer-than-normal compression shorts. The hope was that these clothes would feel cool against my body and be tight enough not to be flapping around.

On the topic of weather, I give this weather a 6 out of 10 on my race weather scale. It was 62 degrees with 100% humidity and a light steady rain. Thankfully the wind was light at around 8 mph. If it had rained any harder, I would have given this a 5. If it didn't rain at all, I would have given this a 4. But it was the PERFECT amount of rain to keep me cool without being a heavy downpour. So, yay for the perfect rain!

We arrived about an hour before the race started. I drank a serving of UCAN Energy Powder in the car. I have been using this more and more before my long runs and it's been working well. There was a time when I had stopped using it due to stomach distress but I think that was a one-off incident. After that was done, I used the bathroom and started my warm up. 

The original plan was to run at least 13 miles so I would have the distance of a half marathon, but then I realized that 1 or 2 extra miles would not make a difference in the grand scheme of things so I warmed up for 2.3 miles. 

Greg played the role of cheerleader and videographer for this race. His injury is finally starting to heal but he's not ready to run quite yet. He wore a big poncho that was the same shade of red as the demons in the movie The Village. We had just watched this movie a week prior so it was fresh in our minds. Those demons where referred to "Those of Whom We Do Not Speak" so we kept making jokes about how Greg was one of Those of Whom We Do Not Speak. If you saw the movie and Greg in the poncho, you'd get it.

Miles 1-3
The 10K and 10 mile runners started together. After 6 miles the 10K runners would turn off towards the finish line and the 10-mile runners would run a 4-mile loop to get to the same finish line. I didn't really

Mile 1, photo by Cheryl Young

have a time goal for this race. It was too hilly for it to be a true predictor of my Marine Corps Marathon time, so I decided it would be nice to beat my 2015 time (1:15:31) by at least two minutes, and ideally run under 1:13. If I was having a good day, maybe I could squeak under 1:12.

The race started and I realized it was on the small side for a Potomac River Running race. I think a lot of people must have bailed due to the weather. My physical therapist was supposed to run it and I didn't see him. I am guessing his absence was not weather-related though. 

The roads were soaked and I didn't even try to dodge the puddles. I did have to be extra careful with the potholes and there were places with a lot of fallen acorns that were also challenging. 

I took a caffeinated Maurten gel about 5 minutes into the race. It didn't sit well and I had a nauseous feeling for the next 10 minutes.  

I remembered my 2015 splits and and pacing. I paced it really well in 2015 so I tried to mimic that strategy. The first three miles were hilly but they were mostly equal parts uphill and equal parts downhill.

Mile 1: 7:03
Mile 2: 7:05
Mile 3: 7:18

Miles 4-6
As you can see, my pacing wasn't exactly going in the right direction. But I wasn't discouraged because I knew I was keeping the effort steady. In 2015, mile 4 was my slowest mile. So I gave myself some grace here. I knew, however, that I would be rewarded with a very fast mile 5. As I was giving myself grace, two runners passed me. One of whom was a female. I glanced at her bib to see if she was running the 10K or the 10 mile. I could see that the corner of it was a darker shade of blue which meant she was in the 10 miler. I told myself not to get too competitive at this stage in the game. I could catch up later.

She was ahead of me for maybe half a mile and then as we started descending the hill I was able to pass her. 

I saw Greg at mile 6 as we approached the start/finish, which is where the 10K runners were turning off. At this point, he told me that I was in second place. I honestly had no idea where I was in the field because I couldn't tell which runners were in the 10K vs. the 10 miler. But second place, that was pretty awesome. I hoped I could hold onto that. 

Mile 4: 7:25
Mile 5: 6:55
Mile 6: 7:04

Miles 7-10
I knew to expect that miles 7 and 8 were net uphill and miles 9 and 10 were net downhill. Mentally I told myself I just had to get to mile marker 9 and then I would mostly be done with the uphill. It didn't exactly
go that way and the ups and downs weren't exactly where I expected. But I told myself just to roll with it. I had another Maurten gel at the start of the 7th mile - this time without the caffeine. I only had half of it though because I didn't need the whole thing to get me through about 30 minutes of work. It didn't sit well but thankfully I was only uncomfortable for a few minutes. 

My legs were starting to feel pretty beat up by this point. They had zero pep going up the hills. I did not feel like I had strong legs at all. From a cardiovascular perspective, I think I had a little more to give. But my legs didn't want any part of it!

Running to the finish!

My biggest focus now was to hang in there enough so that the woman I had passed earlier in the race didn't catch up. I wanted to solidify my second place position. 

Unfortunately mile 9 was not the big downhill I had expected based on the elevation data. But mile 10 had a nice decline. 

The finish of this race was not nice. They had us run through the high school parking lot, down a hill, and then do a hairpin turn to come back up that same hill! And then down a hill with a few turns onto a track. But we only got to run about 100 meters on the track. At the hairpin turn I saw my competition about 20 seconds behind me. If she had a good final kick she could maybe close the gap. This motivated me to give it all I had, while also minding the pot holes and bumpy pavement in the school parking lot.

Mile 7: 7:42 (yikes!)
Mile 8: 7:25
Mile 9: 7:27
Mile 10: 7:03
Last 0.06 on my Garmin: 6:38 pace

I sprinted through the finish line with an official time of 1:12:53. I was the second female finisher! The First place female was over 8 minutes ahead of me; there was no attempt to catch her. 

After the Race
I reunited with Greg and it wasn't long before my typical dry heaving started. This was never an issue in my 30s. But once I turned 40 it's happened at almost every race longer than a 10K. And if it's not dry heaving, it's actual vomit.

Instead of doing a cool down run I decided to prioritize getting warm. Even though it was 62 degrees I was soaked and I did not want to risk hypothermia. I learned my lesson on that last year! I changed into dry clothing immediately and waited for the awards to start. 

I won a gift certificate to the running store which more than made up for the registration fee. Then we drove home and I was quick to get into a nice warm bath.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
During the race and immediately after I wasn't too pleased with my performance. It got very hard in the last 4 miles and I slowed down. But the more I thought about it from all angles, the more I realized that this was a strong performance. 

• Even though I had better pacing in 2015, it was 35 degrees cooler back then (the early March rendition of this same race).
• 
  Speaking of 2015, my original goal was to beat that time by two minutes, and I beat it by more than 2:30! In much warmer weather!
• Speaking of weather, even though the rain made this manageable for me, the humidity still posed a
  challenge. Running these kind of paces in temps above 60 degrees is really good for me. Especially on hills.
• Speaking of hills, I am sure I used extra muscles to stabilize myself on the downhills with the wet pavement. You have to be careful running downhill on wet pavement to not bite it! Especially in the adidas Adios Pro which has almost no traction.
• This course is not a good predictor for what I will be able to accomplish at MCM. All things being equal, the McMillan Running Calculator has me at 3:24. But all things will not be equal because MCM is far less hilly, and should be cooler. I'll also have an additional 5 weeks of training under my belt. So my MCM goal of sub 3:20 seems realistic if the stars align.
• Speaking of 5 weeks of training - I'm getting so close! I really only have two big weeks ahead of me and then I go on a cruise. During which I pray not to get sick. I know it's not the smartest idea to go on a cruise two weeks before a marathon, but my sister invited me and we haven't been on vacation together in a long time.

Provided that I don't get sick and that we don't have tropical weather on race day, I think I am good to go for Marine Corps. I have been having some minor high hamstring irritation, but I am keeping that under control with physical therapy. Today's race did not seem to make it worse; I hope I still feel this way tomorrow morning. 

Overall a fun morning and I am really glad I showed up!

10 Fast Miles

Yesterday morning I ran the Tidewater Striders Distance Series 10 Miler in Chesapeake, VA. I'm so happy I did!

Spring Race Planning
A few days after the Harrisburg Marathon last November, I registered for the Myrtle Beach Marathon, which would occur on March 6. In December, I began plotting out the rest of my spring race schedule. This was no easy task. Ideally I would run a half marathon sometime in late January or early February as a tune-up. And also because I thought I would have the fitness to go sub-1:30.

I searched high and low for a half marathon in that timeframe but the only ones available required getting on an airplane. Greg and I wanted to avoid air travel for the sake of our health but also because it would

complicate logistics. The half marathons within driving distance were all insanely hilly. I ran the Hanover Half Marathon last fall which totally destroyed me due to the hills, and I wanted a fast course this spring.

My friend Allison had the novel idea of seeking out a ten-miler instead. I love 10-mile races but they are far more rare than half marathons, so I didn't think I'd likely find one. But I did find one. It was pancake flat. Check. It was within driving distance. Check. It was the last weekend in January. Check. I snagged the very last spot and when I went to register Greg, there were none left! He didn't mind though, and was happy to play the role of cheerleader/photographer. 

On Tuesday of this week, Myrtle Beach announced that the marathon would be pushed to May. I would definitely not be running a marathon in South Carolina in May due to the heat. This news stressed me out because I had just logged three 70+ mile weeks in a row and I wanted to run a marathon on March 6. Now it was back to the drawing board for the marathon. Time for more research! But, on the plus side, it made me more motivated than ever to race the 10-miler because I knew that race was a sure thing.

OR WAS IT!? On Thursday, the Chesapeake area got a few inches of snow. And the race was held on a paved trail that does not get treated or plowed. The last thing I wanted was to try and race on a course with icy patches everywhere. But how would I know? The temperature wouldn't get above 36 in that area, and I wasn't sure how much sun exposure the course got. I posted a message to the Tidewater Striders Club Facebook page asking if any of the locals planned to run on that trail on Friday morning. Thankfully somebody said that they were going to scope it out. I should note that icy patches would be a deal-breaker for me whereas some people would be okay with dodging them. I am very timid when it comes to slippery surfaces so I would not be able to race confidently if I knew I might slip.

I canceled our hotel room to avoid a cancellation fee. (Chesapeake is a 4-hour drive south, so a hotel was required). I figured if the race was on, I could always re-book it. I went to bed Thursday night not knowing if I would actually run the 10-miler. Friday morning arrived and I still had not packed or laid out any of my race things. This was a first for me! Finally, at around 10:00, I heard back from Facebook that the trail was all clear and no black ice. 

I packed for the race and Greg and I left the house two hours later. 

Nutrition and Fueling
If you read my Harrisburg Marathon report, you will know that I had major digestive issues which prevented me from running hard. I need to figure out a fueling strategy before my next marathon. Here is what I ate on Friday:

• Breakfast: A large bowl of grits
• Lunch: Leftover chicken stir fry from the night before, included rice and veggies
• Snack: On the drive down, peanut-butter filled pretzels and some sweet tarts
• Dinner: Bread. Pasta with Pomodoro sauce and chicken 
• I drank approximately 50-60 ounces of water. No additional electrolytes
• 3 hours before the race: 2/3 of the Maurten Drink Mix 160 + and English muffin with almond butter
• 30 minutes before the race: Almost all the rest of the Maurten Drink mix
• 5 minutes before the race: A caffeinated Maurten Gel
• During the race: No fuel or water. Probably could have used a gel at the halfway point.

Before the Race
I had one of my best nights of pre-race hotel sleep ever. I slept for over 8 hours and I only woke up once in the middle of the night. The sleep was restful and I didn't have anxiety dreams about the race. Why? I think I was so stressed about about my race schedule (both the marathon and the ice for the 10-miler) that once I knew the race would happen, I could rest easy. It used to be that the biggest challenge in racing was the race. Now, it's finding a race that will happen!

I woke up and I felt tired, but tired in a good way. When I ran my fastest-ever marathon I also woke up tired and I think that's because the quality of my sleep was so great. For Harrisburg, I woke up and felt jittery and edgy and not rested. I think that my digestive issues had a bit to do with that anxious state.

Warming up in my mask

The race started at 9:00 and we left the hotel at 7:50. It was a 25-minute drive to the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail. Yes- it's actually called "Dismal Swamp". We arrived at the race and hung out in the car for a bit. At 8:25 we got out of the car to get my bib. They had a really smooth social distance process in place. First you stood in line to sign a waver. Then you took the waver to the temperature check station, where they signed your waiver if you didn't have a fever. Then, you took the signed waiver to the bib station where you got your bib. It was very smooth. Everyone was wearing masks and standing six feet apart in the lines. After getting my bib, I went to the indoor bathroom, which was a nice amenity.

Then I warmed up for one mile. It was 30 degrees with 7-8 mph winds and sunny. On the weather scale, this gets an 8.5 out of 10. It would have gotten closer to a 10 if it weren't for the headwind during the last three miles. 

At 8:50, they called us all to the start line where we waited in socially distant waves. I was in the first wave, so I handed my jacket to Greg and got ready. I wore the same type of outfit that I wore during the Christmas Caper 10K in December: capri tights, a short-sleeved shirt, and arm warmers. I wore a long sleeved shirt in Indianapolis when it was 28 degrees and I was hot during portions of the race. The short-sleeves allow more air into the core, while the arm warmers keep the arms warm. I wore my Adidas Adios Pro shoes, which I find to be very fast without any of the Achilles or ankle problems that the Nike Vaporfly Next% gives me.

Race Goals and Strategy
My 10-mile PR was ambiguous. There were three different PRs I could claim:

1. Fastest 10-mile time in a live 10-mile race: 1:09:54 at the Cherry Blossom in 2019
2. Fastest 10-mile in a virtual 10-mile race: 1:09:46 at the Virtual Cherry Blossom in 2020
3. Fastest 10-miles ever run: 1:09:14 during the Indianapolis Half Marathon in 2019

Given that I knew I could run 1:09:14 in a half marathon, I thought I should definitely be able to break 1:09 in a 10-miler and probably even go sub 1:08. My fitness was really strong, I had recently PR'ed a 10K, the weather was cooperative, and the course was flat. It seemed like all the stars were aligning, which is rare. The plan was to start out in the low 6:50s and then speed up from there. 

Miles 1-4
The race started and I eased into it. I only warmed up for 1-mile because I had mis-judged the amount of time it would take to get my bib, pin it on, etc. But I wasn't too worried because there was nothing wrong with gradually easing into my goal pace and running a negative split.

There were three women ahead of me and two men. Additionally, there was a 15-mile race that had started at 8:30 on this same trail. The course was 5 miles out and 5 miles back. No mile markers, but my Garmin seemed to be very accurate on this course.

Mile 3.5

I passed one of the three women about a mile into the race. My split was 6:58. This was slower than goal pace, but that was by design. The course was as flat as they come-- no hills or inclines or anything. The only annoying thing was that there were many acorn-sized round thingees that had fallen from the trees. I don't know what they are called but they are brown and spikey and round. If you ran over one it would likely throw you off balance. I had to dodge those, but at least there wasn't any ice. 

After the first mile, everything started to flow and I increased my effort. My second mile ended up being 6:49, which was right on target so I was happy with my pacing. 

I passed one of the men during the third mile, as I had started to pick up my pace. Now there were only three people ahead of me: two women who seemed to be running together, and one man. I saw Greg at mile 3.5 and he snapped some photos.

Mile 1: 6:58

Mile 2: 6:49

Mile 3: 6:47

Mile 4: 6:42

Miles 5-7

I was running a little faster than planned, but I felt great so I didn't question it. That 6:42 split for mile 4 was certainly a surprise, but everything felt good. I could feel a slight headwind breeze on the way out, so I thought for sure it would be a tailwind on the way back. I was looking forward to that. 

Mile 6.5

At the turnaround, I could tell that the two women running together were no more than a minute ahead of me. I figured if they slowed down I could catch them but I probably wouldn't be able to catch them otherwise. These miles passed pretty quickly. I felt fluid and the effort was hard but not painfully hard. Part of me wondered if I should push harder, but I figured if I had extra energy I would surge during the last three miles, not now when I was just over halfway. I saw Greg again at mile 6.5 and I was feeling so strong! 

I was really enjoying the weather, the flat course, and the fact that I felt so good. My left hip had been acting up earlier in the week, and I actually felt it during my warm up. But miraculously, there was not even a hint of hip tightness or soreness during this race. By the time I reached mile 7, I knew I was going to set a PR. The question was, how much of one? I was running faster than expected and everything felt good. This was my day.  I also really loved seeing the rest of the 10-mile runners on the other side of the course cheering for me. Everyone was so encouraging even when they were in the midst of their own race.

Mile 5: 6:41

Mile 6: 6:42

Mile 7: 6:40

Miles 8-10
Once I got to mile 8, the wind really seemed to pick up. I hadn't noticed it much during miles 6 and 7, but suddenly there was a stiff sustained wind. The race got much harder. I very quickly went from feeling awesome to entering the pain cave. Even though the plan had been to speed up, I had to give everything I had to maintain my pace. Speeding up would not be possible. It was time to start using some mental tricks.

After all the research and stress over finding this race, and then the worry about the ice, you finally made it here. It all comes down to three miles - about 20 minutes. You can stay strong for 20 minutes. You have trained for this. You have spent hours and hours preparing for this moment and you are on track to PR. You need to continue to push as hard as possible. This is the moment that is testing you. You spent four hours in a car yesterday to get here. You did so much research on this race. FOR THIS MOMENT.

It was so hard, but I knew I had to stay strong. It was a battle against the wind and I refused to let the wind win. I started counting down the minutes, which is very helpful instead of thinking about the distance. Soon I only had 15 minutes left, and then 10 minutes. 

During the 9th mile, I started to struggle. I was fading. This is why I think I probably could have used a gel at the halfway point. I needed more pep. My mile split was back into the 6:50s (6:51) which was not

Mile 9.8

 the end of the world but I knew I could run faster if I just gave more effort.

During the last mile, I knew the PR would be mine. Since the course was flat, I could see the finish line from about half a mile away. The two women were still running together and I tried to guess at what time they would cross. The first half of that mile was in the 6:50s, but I did some quick math and realized I was on the verge of sub 1:08. If I didn't run fast enough I would be 1:08:xx but if I gave it absolutely everything I had, I could run 1:07:xx. And that would be HUGE!

I started sprinting. It was now a race against the clock. I had to finish before it struck 1:08. I knew what was on the line, I knew how much I wanted it and even with the headwind, mile 10 was one of my fastest.

Mile 8: 6:44

Mile 9: 6:51

Mile 10: 6:42

I crossed the finish line with an official time of 1:07:47, third overall female and fourth overall runner. The two women finished ahead of the first place male, both in 1:06:xx. Next year I will be right there with them.

After the Race
That final sprint was very fast and according to my Garmin I was running a sub-6:00 pace at the very end. I think it was that final kick that led to the dry heaving. I definitely would have vomited if there was something to vomit, but there wasn't anything because I had no water during the race. I did not feel nauseous during the race like I did in Harrisburg, so that is definitely progress. I think the dry heaving is simply how my body reacts to a hard effort and if I have anything in my stomach, it's going to come up. I don't think it has much to do with what I have eaten.

After the dry heaving, we went straight to the car, relaxed for a few minutes, and then left. There was

really no need to hang around the finish line as there would not be an awards ceremony. We arrived back at the hotel where I showered, packed up, and then we met my college roommate and her husband for lunch. They live in the area so whenever I go there I try to see them. 

We then drove home, stopping at the grocery store along the way to pick up cake batter and the ingredients for frosting. It was PR Cake night! I settled on a butter cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. Dinner would be shrimp scampi and there would also be beer!

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
I'm calling this a PR by two full minutes. Of course it depends on which time you use as my previous PR, but any way you slice it, I was solidly under all of them.

This is very encouraging for me because I was starting to feel that I had been plateauing. I had been setting some PRs but they weren't all that significant. It was like a few seconds here and there, but overall I wasn't convinced that I was becoming a stronger and faster runner.

Not only did I set a PR, but this is the fastest race I have ever run, relative to other distances. What do I mean by that? Well, if I plug this 1:07:47 into the McMillan Race Calculator, the equivalent times are: 5K in 19:32, 10K in 40:33, half marathon in 1:30:25, full marathon in 3:10:16.

I have never run any of those "equivalent" times, which means this 10-mile is my "fastest" race on a relative scale. My goal for my upcoming marathon is 3:10, so as long as my training continues to go well, I should have a great shot at that come March.

As for my spring marathon, the plan is to run this same course on March 27! The Tidewater Striders are holding a "BQ Invitational" marathon for 250 runners on this course and I'm obviously a fan of the Striders and this course. The marathon would be two out-and-backs on this paved trail. Boring, but fast. This means I have to extend my marathon training for three weeks, but I don't think that will be a problem. 

Nutrition-wise, I think what I ate generally agreed with my stomach. During the marathon I will follow a similar plan, except I will need to drink water during the race and have gels during the race. The question will be how many and when. Thankfully I have time to experiment. 

I'm so thrilled with how fast I ran this race, and particularly how I rallied in the end with the headwind and getting my time under 1:08. A lot of mental and physical work went into this one, and it was well worth it.

 

Virtual Cherry Blossom 10-Miler

This morning, Greg and I ran the Virtual Cherry Blossom 10-mile race. The race was canceled due to the coronavirus, but they offered a virtual option. The virtual option allows you to run 10 miles anywhere and submit your results to the race. On Tuesday, they will publish the results on their site.

I wore my bib from 2017

Initially, we were planning to run this race on the W&OD trail with our friend Amber. She's the one who ran the 10K with me a few weekends ago. But she lives in Maryland, and for obvious reasons did not feel comfortable traveling to Virginia for a virtual race. This made things easier logistically because it meant we could run on our local neighborhood route which is flatter and less crowded than the trail. Our neighborhood route has wide roads and plenty of real estate with no major intersections to cross. It does, however, involve a lot of weaving back and forth to cover a long distance:

Virtual Cherry Blossom Race Course

We did an out-and-back on this course so it would be "fair" from an elevation standpoint. We also said we would run 10.04 miles so it would reflect the actual distance of a 10-mile race. This route is made up of gentle inclines. There are no flat portions but the inclines and declines are not steep. There is one long hill and a few very short hills; everything else I would classify as an incline or decline. According to Strava it has a total elevation gain of 185 feet. Also according to Strava, the Cherry Blossom 10-mile course has a total elevation gain of 93 feet. So our route was about twice as hilly.

I should also note that these turns are not sharp; there is plenty of room to turn like how you would on a track. It was nice not having to worry about tangents!

My official10-mile PR was 1:09:54 from 2019, so that was the time to beat. However, I had covered the 10-mile distance as fast a 1:09:06 during a half marathon, so I really wanted to beat that time.

Before the Race
We treated race morning like we would any race morning. We both wore bibs, I had half a bagel with peanut butter. I drank a serving of Generation UCAN 30 minutes before we started. We left the house at 7:05 for a target start time of 7:30. It took us about 5 minutes to drive to our start line, and then we warmed up for a little over a mile. I wore my adidas Adios 5 shoes, which are the same shoes I wore in the 10K time trial. I debated wearing the Vapofly Next%, but I realized I got those mainly to be more competitive and it wasn't worth the injury risk on a virtual race.

It was 43 degrees at the start and sunny, warming to about 49 by the end. Winds were about 4-5 mph and noticeable in some areas. Thankfully, it seemed that any headwind I encountered was also on a downhill portion. On my personal race weather scale, I give it a 9 out of 10. To have gotten a 10, it would have either needed to have been overcast or 5 degrees cooler. Obviously, I am not complaining. A 9 is pretty darn good!

After the warm up, we were both wishing for porta potties, but there was nothing around. Ironically, there were bathrooms all around us. . . but they were inside strangers' houses! After taking a final swig of water, we locked the car and were ready to go, right on time at 7:30. Neither of us carried water or took any fuel during this run. I made sure to hydrate really well on Friday and Saturday, using Generation UCAN Hydrate.

Miles 1-3
The race started and Greg shot out ahead, as I knew he would. I thought he was capable of running a sub 6:40 pace based on his training. My plan was to start at a pace of around 7:00 and gradually get faster, resulting in a negative split. On my home turf, I know this course VERY well as I run it at least twice a week. I knew that the first two miles would be net uphill, so starting on the slower side would be especially important. I focused on keeping it controlled and relaxed. Normally the first two miles of a 10-mile race feel relatively easy and sustainable, but these first two miles felt like 10-mile effort right from the start!

Mile 1: 7:02
Mile 2: 6:56
Mile 3: 6:52

Miles 4-7
That 6:52 mile for mile 3 was a little faster than planned, but I just went with it. I knew that miles 4 and 5 would both be net downhill, so I expected my pace to get faster without having to exert much more effort. I ditched my gloves during the 4th mile. I tried to throw them into a bush, but they landed on the sidewalk and I hoped they would still be there when I got back. For a split second, I had the urge to stop the Garmin and move them, but then I remembered this was a race and I couldn't stop!

It was hard to motivate myself. I had to continually repeat "it counts" and if I set a PR it would count as a real PR. It would have been so easy to stop with nobody around! The mental game was so critical here as I had no crowds cheering for me, and no other runners to compete with. It was just me and my mind, all alone in this virtual race.

When I got to what should have been the turn around based on my mapping tool, my Garmin read 4.9 so I just kept going until it was the halfway point based on my Garmin. Shortly before turning around, I saw Greg, who was over a minute ahead of me at this point. I knew he was totally crushing it and was going to PR. Miles 4 and 5 were net downhill, so I knew it was going to get harder once I turned around. I held it together for mile 6, clocking in at 6:55, but mile 7 was pretty rough and I felt like I was fading at 7:04.

I was hoping that the people out walking their dogs would notice two fast runners wearing bibs and running really hard in the middle of the street and cheer for us. But no such luck. People basically just ignored us. And probably some people were annoyed by us.

Mile 4: 6:54
Mile 5: 6:50
Mile 6: 6:55
Mile 7: 7:04

Miles 8-Finish
I had a choice: I could just coast my way to the finish time, not PR but still get a respectable time, or I could really push and see what I could do. I decided I was going to really push. Mile 8 is the mile with the "one long hill" I mentioned earlier. It starts with a nice downhill but then the uphill seems to go on forever. I knew going into it that mile 8 would be the hardest, so I tried not to look at my Garmin and focus on pushing my way up that hill. I was so gassed and clocked in at 7:10, but with only two miles left, both of which were net downhill, I told myself I could recover and maybe still PR.

Approaching the finish

At this point, my Garmin average pace read "6:59" which would have been a tie with my PR. So I knew that all I had to do was get those last two miles under 6:59 and I would be golden. But I wasn't sure if I could. I was so exhausted and everything hurt. Being on my home turf helped because I knew exactly how far away I was from the finish and I just needed to stay strong for a little while longer. When I hit 6:59 for mile 9, I knew I just had to run one mile as hard as I could and the PR could still be mine. So that is exactly what I did. I really rallied and gave it my all, and ran a 6:51 final mile.

As I was closing in on the finish line, I saw Greg approaching with my phone, and he snapped some photos of me. I can't believe he had enough time to finish, unlock the car, get the phone, and then position himself there!

After my watch beeped, I kept going for a little bit, as the goal was 10.04, but ended up stopping at 10.02 because I mis-judged the distance. Oh well! I was actually quite pleased when I realized that my Garmin also measured 10.02 for the 2019 Cherry Blossom race, which held my PR.

Mile 8: 7:10
Mile 9: 6:59
Mile 10: 6:51

After the Race
My official time for 10.02 miles was 1:09:46, which is an 8-second PR for a 10-mile race! And Greg ran 1:06:40. That is a huge PR for him! I knew he could do it though.

Greg and I drove the car to get my gloves, which were right where I had left them, and then cooled down for nearly a mile. I was so happy to be done and I was glad that I pushed myself at the end to run faster than I did last year.

Final Thoughts, Stats, and Takeaways
For the fun of it (or maybe to antagonize myself) I looked back at the three half marathons in which I ran faster than 1:09:46 for 10 miles. And then I added 8 seconds onto each of them because it took me 8 seconds to go the extra 0.02 today (I was sprinting at that point).

October 2019 Columbus: 1:09:32
November 2019 Indianapolis: 1:09:14
March 2020 One City: 1:09:29

According to Strava, my best 10-mile effort is 1:08:45. I assume that is miles 2-11 of Indianapolis, as opposed to 1-10 as I recorded above. And adding the 8 seconds, that would be 1:08:53. So I know what I am capable of. I just need the right day. And that could have been today if the race wasn't canceled.

So even though today's 1:09:46 is my fastest time for a 10-mile race, I am having trouble really seeing it as a PR because I have covered this distance faster in the past. . . three times! And then I start to wonder, if the race hadn't been canceled, and I had the opportunity to run a faster course with competition, would I then maybe have run my fastest 10.02 miles?

Looking at the big picture, I know that all of these times are within 6 months of each other, so I shouldn't expect to be getting that much faster. But part of me still feels like I am hitting a plateau and I need to do something different if I want to really breakthrough and run 1:08:xx. I think that thing is strength training. Over the past two months, I have been doing more strength training than I usually do, but it's mostly core work and I think I need to be more consistent and follow a more structured plan. The summer will be a great time to do that.

I really have no excuses now, since I don't have to commute to and from work. I could easily take a 20-minute break from work to go in basement and strength train.

A note on the shoes: my feet started to hurt during that 8th mile and I was wishing I wore my older pair of adios- the version 4. I wore the adios 4 for the One City Half and my feet felt great the whole time, but the version 5 stopped feeling good 8 miles in today.

Overall, I'm really proud with my effort level and that I simply went out there and got it done. Yes, I probably would have run faster in an actual race. And yes, I would have liked to have beaten those half marathon 10-mile times. But I gave a lot out there on the empty streets all by my lonesome, battling thoughts of "Does this even matter? Does this even count?"

We will have PR cake tonight, with Greg's PR in bigger numbers than mine. While I do think I can officially call this a PR, it just doesn't feel like one knowing that I have run that distance faster. But that's not what is most important: PRs are NOT what is most important! What is most important is everything I said above: my effort, the fact that I got out there, and the fact that I really crushed that last mile.

Up next: I think I am doing a 5K time trial, but I'm not 100% certain on that yet!

It's a bonk. It's a PR. It's Cherry Blossom!

I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler this morning in Washington DC. I was really excited about this race for a number of reasons. First and foremost, since I DNF'ed the Shamrock Marathon, this had become my "goal race" for the spring season. With a soft PR of 1:10:24, I figured I could beat that by at least a minute, and probably dip under 1:09. All of my workouts indicated that a goal pace of 6:50 was appropriate and I was prepared to crush it.

In the days leading up to the race, I felt awesome. My legs felt strong and peppy, with no lingering fatigue from high mileage marathon training. I slept well and I had a relaxed mindset. The life stress that I had mentioned prior to Shamrock had somewhat subsided, so I was in a good spot both physically and mentally.

The only question was the weather. The forecast called for 54-58 degrees with around 90% humidity. Thankfully the skies were overcast. I decided that I wasn't going to adjust my pacing or strategy for the weather. I was still going to shoot for a 6:50 average pace. However, any warmer or sunnier and I would have likely made an adjustment.

For many runners, these conditions would be ideal. For me, I run best when it's in the upper 30's. In fact all of my current PR's were set in temperatures below 40 degrees! I always say that if I'm not wearing gloves, I'm not PRing. BUT, once again, today's conditions were by no means "bad". They just weren't ideal for me. I knew this, but I still wanted to shoot for a 6:50 average pace because I didn't want to set limitations on what I could do. I didn't want the weather to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Before the Race
Even though I love the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, I do not love the packet pickup situation. In years past, the expo opened at 1:00pm on Friday, and I was able to go during my lunch break. But this year, it didn't open until 3:00pm, which meant trying to leave the city during Friday rush hour. And that could take well over an hour.

So Greg and I drove into the city yesterday to get our bibs. It took us about an hour to get in, maybe 30 minutes to get the bibs, and about 45 minutes to get out. Not horrible, but if the expo had opened earlier on Friday, we would have saved a lot of time and hassle the day before the race.

I slept relatively well last night and woke up refreshed this morning and ready to race. Greg and I ate our typical bagels + peanut butter, and brought Generation UCAN with us to drink 30 minutes before the start of the race. We left the house at 6:00am, and arrived in the city by 6:35. Not bad at all!

We parked about a mile from the start line, warmed up, went to the bathroom and got into the corral about 10 minutes prior to race start. Large races in DC can be logistical nightmares, so it was a relief that everything had gone smoothly with regards to parking and getting to the start on time.

My pace goal was 6:50. Greg didn't really know what to shoot for. He just PR'ed his marathon 5 weeks ago, but then took some time off and hadn't done much speed work since. He also didn't do a ton of speed work during his marathon training cycle due to an ankle issue. We knew his endurance was solid, but we weren't sure where his speed would land him.

Miles 1-3
The race started and I felt amazing. Of course, the first half mile is mostly downhill, so it's easy to start off really fast and feel good doing it. I fell into this trap and noticed I had been running a pace of 6:41 for the first half mile, and needed to dial it back some. The mile then ends on an uphill, so that brought my average pace in line with where I wanted it to be. At the same time, I didn't want to be a slave to the watch. I've run enough 10-milers to know how it should feel, so I wanted my body to be my guide.

These miles were crowded. Only at Cherry Blossom and Boston do I find myself running in such a crowded pack! I tried not to weave through people and focused on running the tangents. Because there are so many people, it's difficult to know where the tangents are, but I think I did a great job of finding them.

These miles felt great, and I knew I was tracking toward a major PR. I had a smile on my face and I was enjoying the experience. I knew that Greg was tailing me pretty closely because I could hear him. Since we run together so much, I know exactly what he sounds like when he's working hard. He even caught up to me during an uphill portion, but then I sped ahead on the subsequent downhill. I tend to slow down a bit when going up hills and then charge back down.

Mile 1: 6:50
Mile 2: 6:51
Mile 3: 6:46

Miles 4-7

Mile 5, photo by Cheryl Young

The race started to feel like "work" starting at mile 4. But the "work" felt completely sustainable. I stayed focused and cruised through mile 4 and 5 pretty easily. I knew that mile 6 would be the toughest of the race. There's a hill that's not too steep but every time it just seems to take something
out of me. I think it's because of where it is during the race.

Greg caught up to me right around the mile 6 marker and then passed me just before we crossed the 10K timing mat. I was really impressed with how well he was doing, given that he had only done speed work twice since his marathon five weeks ago. And. . . it was a bit demoralizing too. As I said, mile 6 is tough, and at the same time, I started to feel less peppy and more fatigued. I told myself "just wait until you get to Hains point-- it will be all flat with no turns and you will feel much better." But that didn't happen. In any event, my official 10K split was 42:43, and I was really excited about that. It's my third fastest 10K ever.

Mile 7 felt WAY harder than mile 6, and this was not a good sign. And even though the forecast showed virtually no wind, I still noticed a bit of a headwind during miles 7 and 8 as we went around Hains Point. It was minor, but given how I felt, it really drained me.

Mile 4: 6:54
Mile 5: 6:52
Mile 6: 7:02
Mile 7: 7:04

Miles 8-10
All I wanted during mile 8 was to turn around and not be running into the wind. I know, I know, the wind was VERY LIGHT, but it felt so hard. In actuality, the problem was not the wind, but the rising temperature. It was probably around 57 degrees by this point and humid, and my body does not like even a hint of warmth. Regardless, I pushed and pushed and pushed.

I wondered how I would even finish. I kept feeling like "OMG I need to stop right now!" but then I would convince myself to keep going no matter what. I seriously entered a pain cave and I was in a world of hurt. I was barely looking at my watch because I didn't want to get discouraged. All I wanted to do was to finish and be done with the torture.

I had to constantly remind myself, "You're still in the game!" Because it honestly felt like my race was over and I was no longer in control of the pace. I was just hanging on for dear life. My "You're still in the game!" mantra helped me so much. It meant that I could still PR, even though it would be modest. I knew that I would be not be happy if my "spring goal race" was a flop so I just told myself I was still in the game and I gave it all I had when I felt like I had nothing.

During mile 9, I noticed that my chest was starting to hurt. OMG- was I having a heart attack? Was I pushing myself into the danger zone? I wasn't sure, but I kept doing it!

People were passing me, but I vowed not to let that get to me. I was doing great. I was going to finish.

Mile 10, Photo by C. Young

I was still in the game and I could still PR. I remembered the 10 mile race I ran last October. I literally stopped for 20 seconds during the 8th mile because my foot was numb. And yet my time was still pretty decent. So today there would be no stopping and my time would be even better.

Finally, we were out of Hains Point and there was about half a mile to go. And it was pretty much all uphill! But I knew that if I let myself fall apart now, I wouldn't PR. And I was NOT going to fall apart in the last half mile of the race. I was too close. Not only did I have to push hard to stay on track to PR, but I had to push hard UP HILL.

So, I did what I always do when I'm racing up hill. I focused on a point about 20 feet ahead of me up the hill, and I ran as had as I could until that point, and then found another point 20 feet ahead of me and ran as hard as I could until that point. And another, and another. This way, I didn't have to look up to see how steep/long the hill was and I just focused on the next 20 feet. It works for me every time and it worked today.

At last, I was at the top of the hill, and then I sprinted my heart out on the downhill finish. The finish line clock read 1:09:23 and since I had started about 15 seconds after that I knew that if I gunned it, I could get under 1:10:10. According to my Garmin, the last 0.02 of the race was a pace of 4:47.

Mile 8: 7:09
Mile 9: 7:11
Mile 10: 7:07

After I crossed, I felt soooooo bad. I met up with Greg (who finished about a minute ahead of me) and it took me about five full minutes to be able to communicate properly. I was a wreck. I was dry heaving. But, I had my sub-1:10.

Official time: 1:09:54.
I placed 17 out of 1,249 in my age group (40-44)

After the Race
I saw a few friends at the finish line but I could barely talk to them. I was in such bad shape. But ultimately, I started to feel more normal and Greg and I walked back to our car and drove home. I immediately got into an Epsom salt bath and Greg made us coffee. Usually racing suppresses my appetite, so I wasn't hungry for lunch until about two hours after finishing.

Final Thoughts and Takeaways
To simultaneously bonk and PR in the same race speaks volumes about my fitness. And also about my mental strength. So, I'm pretty happy with that. My coach said this:

You're amazing Elizabeth! Most athletes would have given up when your body was starting to turn against you, but you fought so hard and came away with a PR... in conditions that normally destroy you! You should be so proud of yourself; I actually think this is one of your best races because you fought against the thought of stopping but continued to get a PR.

He's right! This is one of best races. Racing is not about running the absolute fastest time in ideal conditions. It's about getting the best out of yourself no matter what and I got the best out of myself. This race was very close to becoming a disaster, but I refused to let it end that way.

Part of me feels like it's not a "real" PR because I ran the first 10 miles of the Houston Half Marathon faster. Of course, it was 35 degrees! All that means is that if I ever encounter a cold 10-miler, I can shave a good chunk of time off what I ran today. I know I had a 1:08:xx in me today, but the weather unfortunately didn't cooperate. Again, today's weather was ideal for many runners, but not for me.

With only six seconds under 1:10:00, I really owe it to rallying during that last half mile, reminding myself that I was still in the game, and believing in myself. If I hadn't done all that, I definitely would have not run under 1:10:00, and I wouldn't be nearly as satisfied.

Lower Potomac 10-Miler

If you've been chomping at the bit for my Army Ten Miler race report, don't worry-- you didn't miss anything! I was a no show and decided instead to wait a week and run the Lower Potomac 10-Miler.

The weather for the Army Ten Miler was nearly as horrible as last year: 73 degrees with 100% humidity. Since I had already run that race in those conditions, and I know that my immune system issues are triggered by running hard in the humidity, I decided it would be best to skip it. There was really no point in over-taxing myself just because I was registered.

My friend Cheryl found a 10 mile race the following weekend (today) in Maryland and I decided I would register for that if the forecast was looking good 5 days out. We both registered on Tuesday of this week and were delighted with the prospect of running in the low 50's after 5+ months of 70-degree mornings.

Before the Race
Cheryl arrived at my house at 4:40am. Greg, who wasn't running the race, volunteered to drive. How nice of him! It took us about two hours to get to the race site in Southern Maryland. On the way, we were passed by a high-speed police chase on the Capital Beltway. A car sped by us at what seemed like 100mph, weaving in and out of traffic, and was shortly followed by the cops, going almost just as fast. It was scary but exciting.

Piney Point Sunrise, photo by Greg Clor

When we arrived, we picked up our bibs, went to the bathroom and then went to look at the gorgeous sunrise over the Potomac River. The view was incredible and I fell in love with the race before it even started. I love running by the water because it's calming and beautiful.

The start area was pretty simple. There was no mat because it was not chip timed. There was a clock, however, which meant they would be tearing off the tags on our bibs as we finished and manually recording the time. I knew this going into the race and was fine with it due to the small size of the race.

I drank my Generation UCAN and then Cheryl and I ran a warm up mile on the course. It was nice and flat, as expected and I felt pretty good.

Race Strategy and Goals
My coach advised me to start the race in the low 6:50's. My goal was to run 1:08:xx, which is a 6:54 pace or faster. How did I arrive at this goal?

• I ran the Houston Half Marathon in January at a pace of 7:03
• Then I trained for Boston and advanced to a new level of fitness with 75+ mile weeks during training and one run that included 10 miles at an average pace of 6:50: (4 miles, 3 miles, 2 mile, 1 mile) with 3-minute recovery jogs in between
• I figured back then I could have run a sub-6:50 ten-miler
• I did take six weeks off over the summer due to illness, but I've been working my way back
• Some of my recent workouts had gone really well, despite the heat and humidity

My coach was on board with my goal and said not to limit myself, indicating that I could potentially run faster. If I didn't run 1:08:xx, I thought that breaking 1:10:00 was definitely attainable. And although not a given, breaking my PR of 1:10:24 from April 2017 was likely. I was very confident that I would be eating PR cake.

Furthermore, this would be the first "big" race since Houston that had decent weather. I was in tip-top shape for RNR New Orleans, but I melted in the heat. And then, of course, there was Boston. Followed by illness and a series of warm or rainy 5Ks. I hadn't had the opportunity to run a really fast time since January and I had worked so hard since then. Surely I was faster now, even if I had to take off six weeks in the middle of the summer. Finally I was able to test my theory and see if I had, in fact, made substantial fitness gains since January. 

Miles 1-4

There were about 70 participants in this race, so Cheryl and I lined up toward the front. Last year, the

Mile 1

women's race was won in 1:12:xx, so I figured I had a shot at winning this year. But of course, you never know who is going to show up.

I felt good right off the start line. About half a mile in Greg was taking photos, and I was in high spirits when I saw him. Oddly, my Garmin was not reflecting my perceived level of effort. Even though my coach said to start out in the low 6:50's, I figured I would run the first mile in about 7:00 just to be conservative and warm up a bit more. Well, I ran a disheartening 7:09. Sure, I could have run a 7:00 pace if I was running strictly based on the Garmin, but I actually race more by feel-- using the Garmin for feedback periodically. And I guess a 7:09 pace felt appropriate for the first mile. I didn't judge it and I didn't get discouraged. I knew that the first mile is never an indicator of how the race will go and I felt energized, which was more important than watch time.

Two women had shot out ahead of me at the start line, which meant I was in the third position. Based on their distance ahead of me during the first mile, I didn't think it was likely I would catch them. 

During the second mile, I found myself running with two men who were clearly running together. I passed them, and then they passed me, and then I passed them. It was nice to be running with other people since the race was so small, but the leap-frogging was exhausting. They asked me where I was

from and I grunted "DC". Clearly this was their conversational pace, but it was not mine.

I was running in the mid 6:50's which is right where I wanted to be and I was feeling strong. I definitely felt like this was maintainable for the rest of the race, I just needed to continue to push. The course was flat with a few inclines and declines. It offered a nice view of the water and I appreciated the lack of a loud crowd. It was serene. Every time I thought I had sped up enough to pass the two guys for good, they would pass me. This was perhaps the longest leap frogging session of any race ever, and it wasn't until the 6th mile that they pulled ahead for good.

Mile 1: 7:09
Mile 2: 6:56
Mile 3: 6:54
Mile 4: 6:54

Miles 5-7
At the halfway point, I was still feeling good, but I definitely couldn't speed up anymore. I realized it would be challenging to simply maintain the pace, but I thought I could do it. I thought my 1:08 was probably not feasible, but I was still in the running for 1:09. I kept working hard.

There was an unexpected bridge (hill) during mile 6 and I welcomed the change. In fact, powering up that hill made me feel strong and energized. It forced me to find a different gear and it pepped me up. The two men were a good ways ahead of me at this point and I enjoyed the solitude of running alone. I was still in third place at this point, and after the turnaround, some of the others cheer for me, telling me I was going to be "on the podium." I didn't care all that much about my placing, as this race was all about testing my fitness and seeing what I could do in good weather conditions.

Somewhere after the turnaround (mile 6) my left foot started to go numb. And before I knew it, the entire foot was numb and tingling. I couldn't feel it as I ran. I was already exerting max effort so having another obstacle was not good. I knew why it was happening, at least. Three weeks ago, after the 5K, I was diagnosed with a Morton's Neuroma in my left foot. I didn't have pain, but it felt like there was a lump of something in the ball of my foot. I had a Morton's Neuroma in my left foot 11 years ago, and this felt similar, so I went to the podiatrist, and an ultrasound confirmed I had a Neuroma. A Morton's Neuroma is a thickening of the nerve tissue below the toes. The toe next to my big toe is swollen, and so is the area directly underneath it. 11 years ago, this was treated by receiving a few rounds of alcohol sclerosing injections. This injection essentially shrinks the Neuroma down so that it no longer becomes an issue. My doctor told me I could continue to run on the foot, and gave me an injection after he received the ultrasound results, and then again on Thursday.

I was a little worried that getting a shot in my foot on the Thursday before a Sunday race was a bad idea. I even considered moving it to Wednesday, but I just didn't. When I got my first shot two weeks prior, I didn't have any lingering effects so I figured it would be fine. What could happen, right?!

The ball of my foot was numb for about 12 hours after the shot and then returned to normal. My foot felt fine all day Friday and Saturday. So now, at mile 6 of a 10-mile race, it all of a sudden decided to go numb. And not just the neuroma area, the entire foot! I couldn't feel the bottom of my foot at all.

Mile 5: 6:56
Mile 6: 7:04
Mile 7: 7:00

Miles 8-10
Mile 8 is where my "B" goal of sub-1:10 slipped away. I had to stop. I could not continue running on a numb foot. I banged my heel into the ground and tried doing things to restore the feeling, but nothing was working, and I didn't want to be stopped for too long. So after about 5-10 seconds, I resumed running, at a slower pace than before, and just dealt with it. It was sucking my mental and

Heading toward the finish line

physical energy out of me and it was so hard to push at 100% effort when I couldn't even get the feedback from my toe-off. But I was so close to the end of the race and I wanted a success story so badly. The average pace on my Garmin was 7:01, so I could still PR if I maintained it.

But I couldn't return to my previous pace once I started running again, and logged a 7:20 mile (including the stop). Mile 9 was 7:10, but did not include a stop so both of those were probably the same running pace.

With just one mile left, I told myself to run as hard as I possibly could. And I started to get feeling back in my left foot. Thank goodness. It wasn't 100% back, but at least it was something and it enabled me to focus on pushing hard instead of the numbness. I logged a 7:02 on my Garmin, and then sprinted the last 0.05 to the finish at a pace of 5:49. I was happy that I pulled it back together for the last mile, but it was not enough for a PR.

Mile 8: 7:20
Mile 9: 7:10
Mile 10: 7:02

Final Thoughts
I finished in third place and my official time was 1:10:45, which is 21 seconds slower than my PR. And I blame my foot for not PRing! But, even without the foot issue, I still don't think I would have run 1:08:xx or even 1:09:xx. I think I could have salvaged a small PR if it weren't for the foot, but otherwise, I have to admit I'm not in as good of shape as I was last January.

It all depends on how you look at training. In December of last year, I was running long, hard workouts. Much longer and harder than what I've been doing the past six weeks. My coach is very gradually building me back up, and my longest workout has been 5 miles, which is short compared to what I was doing last December. So in that sense, I haven't been putting in the same work that I was putting in before the Houston half.

Looked at another way though, I think the Boston training cycle brought me to another level. Take my Houston half marathon fitness and then add 3 months of daily training (90 days with no breaks), 65-80 miles per week, 3-4 hard workouts per week. I was in the shape of my life in April and I think that training gave me a new "baseline" so even without all those intense workouts, I felt like I still should have been in the same shape (if not better) than I was in January.

I have to admit that I am discouraged by this race. I was energized, I felt good, I pushed to the best of my ability, the weather was nice, but my time wasn't where I thought it would be. I have the Richmond half marathon in 4 weeks and I was hoping for a big PR there, but that's looking less likely, but I won't rule it out. How much fitness can be built in four weeks? And will my foot get numb again? At least I know not to get a shot 3 days beforehand.

I'm more optimistic about setting a marathon PR in December because I still have 8 weeks to train. At this point, I would still like to shoot for 3:15, but that's TBD.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed and frustrated. Yes, there are some positive take aways here. And I'm trying to focus on them. I need to focus on them. At the same time, it's been almost a year since I set a PR and I'm turning 40 in a month. I had high hopes of crushing it this season after a spring plagued by bad weather, and now I have to accept that it might not be possible. I won't stop trying though.

After the Race
Cheryl finished shortly after me and reached her goal, running her third-ever fastest 10-miler. I was so happy for her. We stayed for the awards ceremony and then drove to Solomon's Island for a delicious brunch. My spirits were high, because all in all, it was a good experience. I enjoyed the course, the relaxed atmosphere, and I had fun. It was good to spend time with Cheryl and Greg and a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

As for my foot, it became tender after the race. On the bottom of my foot, where the neuroma is, it feels like I'm walking on a bump and it's not comfortable. It should calm down by tomorrow because it felt the same way after the 5K three weeks ago and then calmed down. I really hope this doesn't become a bigger issue.

It was a two-hour drive home (no police chases this time) and it felt so wonderful to hop into an Epsom salt bath. I'm more motivated than ever to work hard toward my goals and show some sort of running progress this fall!

Army Ten-Miler: Running in a Sauna

At the start of the Cherry Blossom 10-miler this year, the announcer said, "We have 'no excuses' weather this morning," because it was in the low 40's. At the Army Ten Miler this morning, I was waiting for the announcer to say that we had "excuses" weather because it was so hot, but that never happened!

Needless to say, we approached record heat and humidity this morning here in DC. According to the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang: Dew points are on the rise as a tropical air mass rushes through the region. Temperatures will be quite warm and uncomfortable. . . in the low 70s downtown with comparable dew point values. Warm record lows for Sunday are in jeopardy of being broken.

At several points throughout the week, I debated not racing. I had bailed on the Navy Air-Force half

Army Ten-Miler, Post-race

marathon three weeks prior due to similar weather conditions, and not wanting to subject myself to a death march. I have a history of heat exhaustion and I've found that the heat and humidity seem to impact me more than the typical runner.

I ultimately decided to stick it out and try to make the best of it. I really only had one goal (aside from avoiding heat exhaustion), and that was to run my last mile faster than my first mile. Ideally, I would run negative splits and pass people during the second half. Instead of running by my watch, I would run by feel.  Before the forecast came out, I was thinking that I might be able to manage a 6:50 pace for 10 miles. But with the heat, the race ended up being all about the effort level, and not trying to test my fitness.

I slept particularly well during the week leading up to the race, and I could tell that my body was starting to recover from the past six weeks of hard training. My coach gave me a taper for this race, allowing my legs to regain their pep, and I took full advantage of it. As a result, my mileage for this week was only 52, compared to my typical 65+, but I think it was good for me to have a cutback week in terms of mileage. Knowing that my only goal would be to pace the race for a negative split and run a hard effort, the pressure to PR was non-existent.

Before the Race
My alarm woke me up at 5:30, which is atypical of race morning. Usually I am up in the 4:00 hour on my own because I am so excited about the race. I'll be honest-- I was not excited about racing in 76 degrees, which was the current temperature in DC according to Wunderground.

Greg and I had reserved a parking spot about one mile from the race start. We left the house a little later than we wanted to, and the drive took longer than expected, so we both started to get a little nervous. But thankfully, we found street parking on the way to our reserved garage spot, so we just took it. The "reserved" spot was actually the parking garage of a hotel, and I was worried there wouldn't be availability despite a reservation, due to the hotel being booked for the race. The street parking was free and easy. As we jogged to the start, we passed a hotel and used the bathroom. This was a lifesaver. We were already on the later side of things, and we didn't have time to wait in line for a porta potty.

We figured out our plan for meeting up after the race. Basically he was going to wait for me after the finish line chute and look for me as I walked through. He said that I should do the same for him if I finished first but I told him that was not going to happen. "It could happen," he said. "It is highly unlikely to happen," I replied, as I hadn't beat Greg in a race in over a year. "But if it does, I will look for you to finish."

It wasn't long before we reached the Pentagon, the starting point of the Army Ten Miler. There were 35,000 runners (more than run the Boston Marathon) and the announcer kept mentioning that it was the third largest 10-mile race in the world. We made our way to the first corral and it was packed. It was particularly warm in the corral with all the body heat and sweat radiating from the runners. Even on the hottest summer mornings, it wasn't 76 degrees! A typical summer morning in DC is around 70. This was almost comical.

Miles 1-4
The race started and it was very crowded. I decided that I would go with the flow and not waste energy weaving through people. I didn't have a target pace for the first mile, but my overall sentiment was that I'd be happy to run my goal marathon pace (7:25) for 10 miles in these difficult conditions. I thought that the crowd would thin out after a mile or two, but it didn't. In some cases I found myself behind people going much slower than I wanted to be, so I had no choice but to do some weaving.

Even though the Army Ten Miler has a wave start, with assigned corrals, it is not enforced. I passed quite a few people who probably weren't going any faster than a 10:00 pace.

It started to rain during the third mile and it felt amazing! Unfortunately, it didn't last long and we were back into the sauna by mile 5.

I carried a water bottle with me for these first four miles, and then ditched it. I poured the majority of the water on myself as I ran, and only drank about 25% of it. This was fine, though, because I had hydrated really well on Friday and Saturday, and knew that I wouldn't need to drink a lot during the race itself. In the past, I have had a tendency to drink too much water in warm conditions, and I've learned that I actually don't need to drink a lot during races if I hydrate properly beforehand.

I decided to be very conservative and take these miles easy. Typically when I run a 10-mile race, I feel like I am putting out race effort starting at mile 2. But today, the first four miles felt comfortable-- definitely not race effort. And that was by design.

Mile 1: 7:31
Mile 2: 7:23
Mile 3: 7:25
Mile 4: 7:15

Miles 5-7
Once I had tossed my water bottle, I felt free to up the effort level and start passing people. And I did. Even though there were still loads of people, I noticed that things opened up substantially during the 5th mile, and I was able to pass people without a ton of weaving. I felt strong and my spirits were high. I actually felt much better than I did at the Cherry Blossom earlier in the year, when I felt "off" throughout most of the race.

With six miles left to go, I felt like I still wasn't out of the "danger" zone. I increased the effort, while making sure to save something for the end. I hit the halfway mark in 37:11. Now, I had a goal. I wanted to negative split, which meant sub-1:14:22. This seemed very doable. There was a bit of a hill after the halfway mark, which was tough, but once I got to the top I felt good again and ready to crush it. As I ran through the sixth mile, I remembered last year's race, when I was a spectator cheering for Greg. Even though it was ridiculously hot, I was thankful to be strong and healthy instead of recovering from mono.

Mile 5: 7:15
Mile 6: 7:13
Mile 7: 7:10

Miles 8-10
After mile 7, we turned a corner and started running on a bridge. The bridge would span 2 miles and I was told it was the most difficult portion of the race. I had only run the Army Ten Miler once before,
and it was seven years ago, so I didn't have a great memory of the course. As I made the turn onto the bridge, I was shocked to see Greg not that far ahead. This came as a huge surprise. I expected him to be at least two minutes ahead of me. And I was catching up to him!

Everyone was suffering. I'm leading the guys.

After a few minutes, I reached him and I said something to the effect of "It was unlikely." He let me know that his Garmin had stopped working, so he didn't know what pace he was running. He gave me a few words of encouragement but after about a minute I took off ahead. Initially I thought that something might have been wrong with him for me to have caught up, but he seemed fine physically and was able to talk to me.

The fact that I had passed Greg was a huge mental boost. Greg's 10-mile PR is 1:07! And he just ran a 1:32 half marathon in the heat three weeks prior. And then the passing continued. I passed, and passed, and passed! I thought about the RunPix that races sometimes offer that show you how many people you passed and how many people passed you during the second half of the race. Cherry Blossom had those, and I hoped that this race would too. I was a passing machine!

The bridge was tough, but I felt great. I was having fun, enjoying the race atmosphere, and feeling giddy that I was actually negative splitting a 10-miler in 76 degrees. And finally I was able to put out true race effort without worrying about bonking. With just three miles left to go and feeling great, I knew I was in the clear.

Mile 8: 7:06
Mile 9: 7:08
Mile 10: 6:53
Last 0.13: 6:20 pace

The finish
I crossed the finish line feeling like a million dollars and the announcer called out my name. And I didn't double over with my hands on my knees like I typically do. I felt so good! I couldn't believe I

Photo by Cheryl Young

ran a 6:53 final mile when it was 76 degrees and humid. And I didn't have to kill myself to do it. No black spots. No dehydration. No dizziness.

Greg appeared shortly after, which was a relief. After exchanging race stories, we did a cool down jog back to the car. A few hours later I heard that they re-routed the course at some point after we finished due to the adverse weather conditions. Apparently there were quite a few runners collapsing. As mentioned above, this was record-breaking heat and humidity.

I don't have my official time yet, and because they downgraded this to a "recreational run" for the runners who finished after they re-routed the course, none of the results will be posted until tomorrow. I'll come back and update with my official time tomorrow. My watch said 1:13:10. I'm less curious about my time than how I ranked in my age group. This may be the first hot race where I was actually more competitive instead of less competitive.

Edited to add:
My official time is 1:13:08. I placed 23 out of 2,209 in my age group (35-39) which puts me in the top 1.0%. I was also the 96th female finisher out of over 11,000.

Final Thoughts
Since both of my tune-up races were in abnormally hot weather, I figured that the weather gods really wanted me to run a hot race. And if I didn't pay my dues now, I would have to on marathon day. So hopefully I have satisfied the requirement for a long hot race and it will be cold and overcast in Indianapolis in four weeks. I'm definitely glad I didn't bail on this race. Here are my final thoughts.

• I once again learned that having a great race isn't always about setting a PR. It's truly about the process.
• I didn't feel like I was running at true race effort until the last three miles, so I probably could have run an overall faster time. But I'm totally okay with that. I was purposely conservative, and I
  
  did what I set out to do.
• Based on how an average "Garmin pace" of 7:13 felt in crappy conditions, I think a "Garmin pace" of 7:25 for the marathon is realistic. My coach even thinks it will feel easy!  
• This was an excellent workout and because I ran it on the conservative side, I'll be ready to jump back into marathon training next week.
• I was only 15 seconds per mile slower than Cherry Blossom from this past spring, and that race was in the low 40s. 
• My Achilles' were 100% pain-free during the run, but upon getting out of the car after the ride home, they had really stiffened up and were painful for the first few minutes of walking. They are doing better now.
• In 2010, I ran this race in 1:17:54, so I set a huge course PR this morning!
• I could complain about how I am in PR shape and would have set a massive 10-mile PR, but I'm not going to. The 10-mile PR will come eventually; this race had its own rewards. 

I wore the Adidas Tempo for the first time in a race, and I was very pleased with how they felt. They are a great replacement for the Mizuno Wave Elixir and Mizuno Wave Sayonara. 

I'm looking forward to recovering from this race, having two more hard weeks of training, and then tapering for Indianapolis Monumental.