Photo Courtesy of David Colby Young - Maine Running Photographer.
Today was the last day of summer and what better way to celebrate than running a race? The weather was perfect (sunny and warm - 60 degrees F) and I ran the Portland Trails 10K in 54:37 minutes (net time). That is only 34 seconds less than my previous 10K time which means that if I had made up my mind to get into that race from the beginning and if I didn't run the first mile in 10 minutes yesterday I probably would have met my sub-54 goal...
Aaargh! 
According to Mister Tricotine's calculations, I would have finished around 53:20 minutes if I had kept the same pace for the whole race as I did the final 5.2 miles.
So, what happened? Because I hurt my back riding my bike last weekend and because my Chiropractor/Kinesiologist adviced me not to run but to walk that 10K, I showed at the starting line not knowing what I was going to do; walking, running slow and working at keeping my heart rate below 85%, or running my best and go for a sub-54 no matter what.
My indecision has cost me to not reach any of my goals in the end... 
Keeping in mind what my Doctor said yet wanting to enjoy the race a bit, I jogged the first mile at an average pace of 10 min/mile with the intention to be "reasonable", but at the first down-hill my legs irresistably speeded up. From there, and since I was not bothered by my pack pain at all, I decided to go for that sub-54 minutes... eh eh
| Lap (#) |
Time (m:s) |
Distance (mi) |
M Spd (mph) |
Energy (Cal) |
| 1 | 9:57 | 1.00 | 8.5 | 107 |
| 2 | 8:34 | 1.00 | 8.9 | 108 |
| 3 | 8:48 | 1.00 | 7.4 | 107 |
| 4 | 8:44 | 1.00 | 7.9 | 108 |
| 5 | 8:34 | 1.00 | 8.7 | 108 |
| 6 | 8:04 | 1.00 | 10.0 | 108 |
| 7 | 2:02 | 0.26 | 8.8 | 28 |
I finished 370th/769 participants (48.1%) - 25/83 (30.1%) in my age group.
My official time (chip time) was 54:37 minutes -- avg pace 8:48 min/mile
According to my Garmin, my average moving speed was 6.5 mph and my maximum moving speed 11 mph.
Elevation Gain (ft) +429 / -418
Knowing the course well was certainly a plus (I train there often with my running group) because I knew where up-hills and down-hills were and it helped me to manage my energy.
Obviously, my heart rate was not as well managed as I had planned to initially but I didn't go completely crazy either. Unlike my other races where my HR jumped up to 110% of my maximum heart rate, I tried to not let it go over 100%, except for the last mile and the sprint to the finish line. Then, it went up to 105%.
For the whole race my HR average heart rate was 96% of my maximum heart rate, and 105% at the highest. It was in the recommended aerobic zone for only 1:09 minute... [uh hum]
Oh well, as Jeff Galloway says: "There are no health benefits for running faster. It’s only for the ego... but there's nothing wrong with a weekly ego boost."
HA! I should print that out for my Doctor. 
After the race, Pizza and Beer were available to all racers but I personally prefered a Banana and my favorite post-run "fixing fix" (Dried Apricots, Walnuts, Almonds, Pecans and Dark Chocolate Chips) that I brought with me from home + some Coconut Water (rich in natural electrolytes).
The coolest part of the race was that I got to run for a while with my Sparky Friend Tika, and to spend a little time with her - unfortunately not enough to catch up but I know we will meet again.
