Monday, August 20, 2012

2012 Hartwood Capital Ale House 10 Miler

Report:
Managed to set a PR thanks to Biddi. More details later.

Edited to add more details.


This was a slog of a run thanks to my wonderful pacer/running buddy. Tab took things out insanely fast but I somehow managed to hang on. I mean, 10 minute miles. Holy crap was that fast! But it just goes to show that your body really can do more than you think. So as we reached the second mile marker, I was ready to die. But my incessant whining wasn't doing anything to change Tab's pace so I hung on for dear life until we got to the first water table. Once there, I was able to catch my breath before she took off like her ass was on fire down the next hill. I took another quick walking break at Mile 3 but manged to catch up by stretching out on the downhill and running the tangents. I was able to make up a bit of ground on the uphills too so I finally caught her. We repeated this a few more times where I'd pass her at the water tables then she'd pass me. We finally stuck together around Mile 5 or 6 and by the time we reached the water table near Mile 6, I could tell she was fading a bit. We had joked earlier that she would crash then but she hung on pretty steady through the whole race, only showing some visible signs of sluggishness around Mile 7 or 8.

The last few miles have bigger hills so things slowed down but we took to our ultra-running skills and walked the hills and ran everything else. As we cruised through Mile 9, I noticed my rival behind us. This old guy always wears red and I've long made it my goal to never have him beat me. He has no idea who I am and vice versa but it's still a goal of mine. Anyway, we slogged up the final hill and turned back into the park. As we got within sight of the finish line, I asked Tab if she had another gear. She didn't and I wasn't surprised. So I left her behind and kicked it up to top gear and finished strong passing one more guy at the very end.

Tab finished strong but I could tell she was tired. Probably because she didn't eat a damn thing on the run. And because she went too damn fast at the start. And because she had too much of my whine and cheesy jokes. But in the end, I couldn't have set my new PR without her.

Weather:
Temps were 65F at the start and about 73F at the finish. Humidity was nearly 100% but there was no rain. Partly sunny. No real breeze.

Fluids and Fuel:
Had a chocolate ZICO before the race. No other breakfast. During the run I had a bottle of water for starters then dropped a Hammer Fizz in there at Mile 2. From there I topped it off with regular water at various stages. I also had a mini-flask of Hammer Perpeteum that I finished and one Hammer Gel that I took at Mile 2. Recovery was a beer, some cookies, Hammer Recoverite, and water.

Aches and Pains:
Had some odd bloat and crampy feelings that were high in my gut. Cropped up around Mile 6 but didn't hurt too much.

Gear:
Wore my T-Star running shorts and got lots of compliments. Also wore my singlet with my test script on the back (THE LUMBER JACK).

Splits:
Mile 1 - 10:23 (includes about 30 seconds to cross the start line)
Mile 2 - 10:47
Mile 3 - 10:07
Mile 4 - 10:18
Mile 5 - 10:25
Mile 6 - 10:49
Mile 7 - 11:41
Mile 8 - 11:30
Mile 9 - 11:31
Mile 10 - 9:30
Finish - 1:46:37 (a PR by about 12 minutes)

No comments: