The Heart of the Summer 10k at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis represented the 7th of 13 races in this year's MDRA Grand Prix series. I've missed just 1 of the 7 races so far, although I will unfortunately miss the next two races due to other conflicts. I ran this race last year as well, although it was not a Grand Prix event.
With the success I have had in my last two races I felt ready and confident going into the race. I had 5 full weeks to get ready for this one and have done a good amount of speed/tempo workouts in preparation. Among the 7 - 10k events I have run, I have yet to crack the 40 minute barrier (40:32 PR last October). Breaking 40 minutes was definitely my primary goal in this one.
The weather was as good as could be expected for an early mid July morning. 68 degrees, mostly cloudy with little to no wind. It was humid, but no surprise for this time of year in Minnesota. I wore my Mizuno Wave Universe 3's. I also wore them in an 8k back in March (Human race). They are the lightest racing shoe I own by far - just 4 ounces. Not suited for distances beyond a 10k as they provide minimal support between your feet and the road. I feel quick in these shoes, if only psychologically.
My goal was to run a 6:25 pace overall which would allow me to finish just under 40 minutes. As the race began I felt relaxed and was didn't seem to be laboring early. As I settled into my pace I realized I was running a bit faster than I intended which caused me to want to back off the pace a bit. I ran the first mile in 6:20 and was still a little concerned that I was going out too fast, but then ran mile 2 in 6:23 which was closer to my target pace.
As the race progressed I slowly began passing runners and realized my pace was quickening. I ran mile 3 in 6:18, my fastest mile so far. The race was two counter clockwise laps around Nokomis. I knew I was pushing a pace that would break 40 minutes if I could maintain it. This excited me, but also scared me as I still had over half the race to run and wondered if I could keep this up for another 3.2 miles.
I felt the perspiration pouring off my body with the high humidity. I inadvertently left my half empty bottle of water in one of the satellite facilities before the race, so I wasn't as hydrated as I hoped to be at the start of the race, but figured I would be fine for a race of this distance. My mouth was very pasty though and I grabbed a cup of water at one of the water stops just to get rid of the pasty feeling. What really helped me continue to push the pace was the fact that every time I passed a runner, there was another runner within range I could target next.
With the success I have had in my last two races I felt ready and confident going into the race. I had 5 full weeks to get ready for this one and have done a good amount of speed/tempo workouts in preparation. Among the 7 - 10k events I have run, I have yet to crack the 40 minute barrier (40:32 PR last October). Breaking 40 minutes was definitely my primary goal in this one.
The weather was as good as could be expected for an early mid July morning. 68 degrees, mostly cloudy with little to no wind. It was humid, but no surprise for this time of year in Minnesota. I wore my Mizuno Wave Universe 3's. I also wore them in an 8k back in March (Human race). They are the lightest racing shoe I own by far - just 4 ounces. Not suited for distances beyond a 10k as they provide minimal support between your feet and the road. I feel quick in these shoes, if only psychologically.
My goal was to run a 6:25 pace overall which would allow me to finish just under 40 minutes. As the race began I felt relaxed and was didn't seem to be laboring early. As I settled into my pace I realized I was running a bit faster than I intended which caused me to want to back off the pace a bit. I ran the first mile in 6:20 and was still a little concerned that I was going out too fast, but then ran mile 2 in 6:23 which was closer to my target pace.
As the race progressed I slowly began passing runners and realized my pace was quickening. I ran mile 3 in 6:18, my fastest mile so far. The race was two counter clockwise laps around Nokomis. I knew I was pushing a pace that would break 40 minutes if I could maintain it. This excited me, but also scared me as I still had over half the race to run and wondered if I could keep this up for another 3.2 miles.
I felt the perspiration pouring off my body with the high humidity. I inadvertently left my half empty bottle of water in one of the satellite facilities before the race, so I wasn't as hydrated as I hoped to be at the start of the race, but figured I would be fine for a race of this distance. My mouth was very pasty though and I grabbed a cup of water at one of the water stops just to get rid of the pasty feeling. What really helped me continue to push the pace was the fact that every time I passed a runner, there was another runner within range I could target next.
I ran mile 4 in 6:11 which was my fasted mile of the race. I knew I had a great time going if I could finish strong over the last two miles. I ran mile 5 in 6:16 and was now entering the toughest stretch of the race. The first half of mile 6 was into a mild breeze but also had a few minor uphill sections on a course that is relatively flat overall. With a half mile to go I came around the northwest corner of the lake heading south to the finish line. I ran mile 6 in 6:17 and pushed as hard as I could over the final 0.2 miles to the finish line.
I finished with a time of 39:15. Not only did I break 40 minutes for the first time, but I broke my previous best 10k time by over one minute (1:17) and my time from last year's race by almost 2 minutes! My overall pace was 6:19 which is the exact same pace I ran in my best 5k last year. I finished 31st among 548 runners and 1st of 37 in my age group. My results earned me 867 additional points in the MDRA Grand Prix and pushed my season total to 4,644 points. It also allowed me to remain in first place in my age group and jump to 4th in the overall standings. As I said in my Grandma's Marathon write-up, there are a number of more accomplished runners who have missed several races which allowed me to leapfrog over them for the moment. But I will miss the next two Grand Prix events and expect to tumble a bit in the standings. Very happy with my race though.
