KENNESAW, Ga. -- I haven't done any speedwork since well before April's Revel Mt. Charleston Marathon but with the Peachtree Road Race coming up in three weeks I wanted to race the 10K distance. I also wanted to put the new Hoka One One Carbon X shoes to the test.
So I decided on this race in the suburbs. It's on the same day as the Chattahoochee Nature Center's Possum Trot and I chose this one because of the other race's seemingly huge hill at the end (that really wasn't so big after all).
For the 10K, the race is two 5K loops that begin in an office park before going on a few streets and then through the paved Noonday Creek Trail and then back to the start. My race also started at the same time as the 5K so at the start I wanted to be sure that I held my pace in check as to not run at a 5K pace and then have to slog through the same distance again.
The start/finish gate was a little narrow and I started several rows back from the start. It turned out I was pretty far back as I was six or seven seconds behind the gun time. When I started there was a whole group in front of me and I wondered with my 7:30/mile pace if I was even going to run closer to the 7:15/mile pace I'd need for a PR.
There were a few people around me in the beginning and I could even see a woman running with a few dogs as we approached the turn for the second street we'd run on. I was pretty amazed since she was with the front group!! I ran the first mile in 7:23.
After Mile 1, the course turns on Barrett Lakes Boulevard and is a 56-foot incline over .46 miles to Auto Park Drive Northwest. It is a little daunting but gradual and I made my way up it. Then it dips and resumes another climb of 58 feet between 1.55 miles and 1.8 miles when you turn onto Roberts Road. It starts to be screaming downhill until 2.31 miles when you enter the Noonday Creek Trail. (My second mile was 7:15).
At this point there were some people behind me and I was pretty much drafting off of a kid. On the bike trail he joined up with another youth and I decided to not keep running as fast since it was becoming apparent most of the people in this spot were running in the 5K and were kicking to the end of the race. Indeed when the turn off came for the 5K finish I was the only one running! My third mile was 7:18.
At this point running through the office park I could see one guy already on the streets running way ahead of me and although I thought it would be nice to catch up I decided to not press it too much. Mile 4 was in 7:18 right before the turn for the hill.
The guy looked behind to see where I was before he turned to start the Barrett Lakes climb and I was still a good distance away. Maybe halfway up the hill I could see one other woman starting the turn at the top of the hill (she finished in 44 minutes and change in seventh place overall and I wouldn't see her the rest of the race).
So it was just me and this guy. I think I passed him somewhere on Auto Park Drive before the next turn on Roberts. (I ran this hilly Mile 5 in 7:28 just after the turn) I was a little worried since I didn't want to run too fast and blow up but once I got onto the bike path I decided I would run as fast as I could with some in reserve and then make a decision if I got passed.
I kept pressing and when I exited the trail and got to the short .05/mile turnaround before the end of the race I could see the guy was still on the trail and I probably didn't have anything to worry about. Mile 6 before this turnaround was 7:06.
When I got into the office park, there was a guy telling me to turn right where the 5K finished in the first loop and another guy telling me 10K was straight. So I kept straight for a few feet and the first guy was really yelling loud at me, so I stopped and turned around and confirmed, "10K?" When I got that confirmation, I turned around and then loped through the chute at a 7:19/mile pace, much slower than I normally would kick.
I finished in 45:28 for eighth place overall, 12 seconds above my PR, good for second in my age group (first place was a guy wearing Vaporflys who ran it in 42 minutes so I wouldn't have had a chance anyway).
I was happy with this race since I haven't done any 10K specific speedwork as I was focused on recovering from one marathon and just now starting my Chicago Marathon training. I enjoyed running in the Carbon X -- it felt very smooth throughout but I also feel like in a 10K I prefer the Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% as I feel I can generate my top speed at the end of races much faster. I probably will use the Carbon X for the marathon however.
Time: 7:36 a.m.
Temp: 66 degrees
Gear: Mizuno sleeveless singlet, shorts, Hoka One One Carbon X.
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| Finished! |
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