Green Run 10k race report

With my duathlon two weeks away, I decided a 10k race would be a good way to prepare. I have to start out the duathlon with a 10k so it seemed like a good idea. The race is put on by the Arizona Road Racers in the Reach 11 Horse Lovers Park. It definitely smelled like horses. The 10k is a two loop run on a mostly flat dirt trail in the desert. It's rather low key with a mixture of a few hard core types and mostly recreational runners.

My reach goal was to beat my 10k personal record, 55:31. That quickly fell by the wayside when I ran the first mile in 9:15". Maybe the next mile will be better? Nope-9:15 also. I told myself maybe for the first loop, I could beat the last 5k time I had on this course. No-29:08 on the race clock as I ran by. At least I passed the guy running with the stroller. It was getting hot by this time. It was 84 degrees at dawn. I don't know what it was now. I tried to keep my cadence up since I wasn't getting much power out of my legs. I felt stronger than my last 5k, but my heart rate kept going up steadily and I wasn't running much faster than 9:15"/mile. I didn't have the stabbing pain in my ribs that I usually have when I am running fast, but I was pretty uncomfortable. By the fifth mile my heart rate was in the 170's and I usually train in the 150's for hard runs. Then my intestines started to rebel. I don't think my body likes to run this hard in the heat. I started getting bad cramps. I had to slow way down and blew most of the gains I had in the second lap. I was toasted by the time I hit the finish line and had no energy for a final push.

Final time: 58:47 with 53/108 female. My conclusion is that you are not going to be blazing fast on a dirt course in the heat, let alone P.R. I think when you are running on soft dirt, you lose some of the power of the foot pushing off, so you exert more energy trying to make up for it. That's my excuse anyway. Heat and dirt. I pushed it to the limit, but the speed wasn't there. The fun in racing, though, is trying. Once in a great while you do something extraordinary that you thought you could never do. You try to beat yourself and sometimes you do. Most of the time you don't, but I would rather take a so-so day of racing over staying home.