Marin Memorial Day 10K

Rickshaw · Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 5:26 pm

I crossed over the Golden Gate this morning for a 10K race in Marin. The Memorial Day 10K is one of the biggest 10K's of the season in this area, at least in reputation if not in actual size. It's also part of the Pacific Association USA Track and Field long distance racing series, so fastees from all over Northern California come out for this race. Last year's median finish time was about 44 minutes, and the winning time was 30 minutes! Wow, it's a fast crowd.

I arrived early and said hi to a few of my new teammates on the West Valley Joggers and Striders. Assuming I ran well, and we had at least 5 people in the "open" division, I had a chance to score some points for WVJS in the PAUSATF series. That gave me a little extra motivation, but mostly I was there for myself, hoping to crank out a solid 10K on a fast, certified course with lots of strong competition. I ran a 10K PR of 42:53 on April 1, which was great, but could have been even better if the miles had been marked and there had been more competition to push me. For today, I was hoping to meet or beat my PR time, maybe running in the mid 42's if everything went great. 6:54/mi pace would tie my April PR.

I was talking to myself through the race, and it unfolded something like this: Bang, off we go! I'm weaving a little, but soon I can open up my stride. I feel good. I see a couple of people from my team: hi! Take it easy, take it easy, not too fast. I feel pretty light and quick, not too strained. Mile 1 is 6:33, HR 174. Wow, that felt too easy. Keep it up now, just lock in to a group and hold on. The legs are feeling heavier now. Concentrate on the person in front of you, just follow their feet. Mile 2 is 6:41. Dang, I'm flying, but I'm having to work for it now. Ugh, I'm tired. I'm not even half way there yet! Just follow the feet... Mile 3 is 6:42. 5K is 20:40. Wow, that's not far off my 5K PR (20:26).

Now I'm really starting to feel it. I don't know if I can hold this pace. Slow a little... no, there comes someone from behind me, pick it up, don't let him pass. Got to push now. Am I really only half way there? I'll take another little breather, but no, I'm losing contact with the guy ahead of me. Pick it up, close the gap. Mile 4 is 6:46. Good, good, I can have a PR if I don't crash and burn here, but it's getting really damn hard to keep it up. Where is that 5 mile marker? God I'm exhausted. Where's the sign? How long is this mile??? Oh man, this is bad, a couple people are passing me. Pick it up, hang on, dear God where is that sign? There it is, mile 5, 6:57.

That was bad, but not much farther now. Two more people pass, no, don't let them by, pass them back. Good. Keep on it, keep on that guy up ahead. Oh man, this is a long mile, I am dying. I think I see the last turn up there... is that it? It is, I'm gaining on it, I'm there. Mile 6 is 6:53. Damn. I fly out onto the track for 300 meters to the finish. Take the inside lane, there are two people a little ahead, you can catch them. Dig down now, time to push, time to sprint, get 'em, there! They're eating my dust. There's the finish, 41:xx, you can break 42 minutes! Kick it in, kick it in, yes! The finish is 41:54 and I am hurting bad, but loving every moment.

The official results aren't out yet, so I'm not sure how I did in the team competition, but I'm still thrilled with this race. What a confidence boost! After a couple of disappointing 5K's a few weeks back, I took a good minute off my 10K PR today, which is a pretty whopping huge margin. It's also tantalizingly close to being my best-ever race performance. According to the calculators, my 1:32:44 half in February 2005 equates to a 41:52 10K, but no other race I've done even comes close. Hoo-ah!!