Race for the Roses

My second race of the young season was the 10k version of the Race for the Roses. This marks my 2nd of three consecutive running races to start the season before I transition into Triathlon. My objective going into this race was slightly different than heading into the Shamrock run last month. I was more concerned with having a solid race this morning, running at the pace that I want to do the Eugene Half, and closing strong. 10k is never a fun distance, pretty damn close to red line the entire race, so it would be a lie if I would have told you this morning that I was excited to get up at 5:30am to race it :)

To add insult to injury, I put in a very challenging 4.5 hour ride yesterday...full of wind and lots of hills. That being said, I was still looking forward to a good day out there. I got there a little early and was pleased to be able to see some old friends inside. I ducked out to warm up and then made it to the start line. The first mile to 1.5 is uneventful before the course climbs up Naito to Barbur. The hill this morning seemed to go on forever. To make it more challenging, the event coordinator had the half marathon start 20 minutes before the 10k. No problem right? Well, until the half guys make a two mile loop to start and then we are suddenly trying to race at 6:30 pace while passing literally hundreds of slower half marathoners. It was a complete mess. I was moving from one side of the street to the other to pick my way through the crowds. Suggestion for AA Sports if you continue to offer the 10k to R4R, please alter your start times. It wasn't good for the 10k or the half marathoners.

Anyways, we FINALLY made it up to the turn to head back down and then we had to make another loop back uphill about 1/4 mile later. That little hill was tough. I collected my breathing, focused on a steady stride and kept pace with the little pack I was racing with. We turned back down to Naito and after looking at my watch, I knew I was going to be far off from my goal today...in terms of time. The hills were just too much on the tired legs. But, I was still focused on finishing strong. I brought in the final mile fairly well before we had to go up and over the Steele bridge. Damn that sucked. I made it up and ran down 2 people in front of me within the last quarter mile (except the results are showing one of the people still ahead of me! WTF?!?). I was stoked with that nevertheless! I was not happy with my time, but I figure I easily added 20+ seconds running around people and know that today was not about racing fast. It was about racing tough. And I did that.

Overall, it appeared to be a tough day for times out there. I finished in 43:27 which was good for 4th in my age group and 24th overall out of 865 competitors. And I definitely got "chicked" out there as 3 of the top 5 overall were females :) Good on you ladies!! Anyways, time for some more rest. I have Training Camp II next week!!

-T