Nisswa Firecracker 10k - July 6, 2013

The Nisswa Firecracker race in northern Minnesota was a late entry to my race schedule this year.  I was considering a 10k race in Minneapolis, but last minute plans brought me up north to my son-in-laws family cabin for the weekend.  I took a peak to see if there might be a 10k race in the area that I could run Saturday morning.  The Nisswa race seemed to be a good option...the only 10k option in the area.  Nisswa also offered a 5k race, but my plan is to run a half marathon early next month, so stepping up from the 5k to the 10k distance made the most sense.

Race morning was 70 degrees, cloudy and humid, with rain about to roll in.  Runner turnout was far better than expected for a small town on a holiday weekend.  700 runners between the two races.  I checked in early, but shortly after I did, the check-in lines grew almost 2 blocks long.  As the start of the race approached, it became clear that with so many runners still in line, the start of the race would need to be delayed.  Unfortunately I had already warmed up anticipating the planned 8am start, so I tried to stay loose while waiting.  It was a 20 minute delay before they brought us to the start line.  Of course the race couldn't begin until they lit the official fireworks in the middle of the street!  The fuse wasn't cooperating for the individual trying to light it, but he eventually got it lit,  Then after the national anthem it was finally time for the race to start.

The course was advertised as very flat, with two dirt road sections accounting for about one mile of 6.2 mile course.  The race began well for me.  I felt loose and comfortable through the first mile which I ran in 6:30.  I ran the second mile in 6:25, however I began to discover that the flat course was not as flat as advertised.  There were no big hills or long climbs, but continuous rolling hills most of the way.  The dirt road sections were not too bad, but there were some loose sandy sections that hindered traction at times.

The rolling hills and humidity began to bother me over the next two miles and my pace began to suffer a bit, running 6:36 in mile 3 and 6:39 in mile 4.  Mile 4 became a bit of an obstacle course as the 10k and 5k races converged and shared the next half mile.  Most of the 5k runners had already passed through this section and now the 5k walkers were filling both sides of the road and posing challenges for 10k runners attempting to pass through them.

The last two miles where tough for me.  I wasn't dealing with the humidity very well and felt very tired and sluggish as a result.  This is where the race becomes as much a mental game as a physical game and I wasn't mentally tough today.  The 10k field had spread thin by this point and after passing a runner in mile 5, it looked unrealistic that I would be able to catch the next runner in front of me.  In cases like this I find myself settling for my current race place and simply trying to finish the race out.  But if a runner is within range of being caught, my adrenalin kicks in and I usually respond well in those situations.  In this case my last two miles were unfortunately my slowest (6:41, 6:47).  I'm always a bit disappointed when I can't maintain my target pace throughout the race.  At the same time this was not an easy course and the humid air did a number on me.

My 10k time was 40:02, finishing 13th out of 222 finishers and 2nd of 8 in my age group.  An okay, but not great race for me.  I was able to spend a quite moment sharing a pretzel with my granddaughter after the race, so all is good.  My next race, which I mentioned earlier, is a half marathon on August 3rd.  This will be another warm race most likely, but I will have another month of summer training under my belt.  Hoping this will allow me to handle the heat better than I did my last two races.  

Race Results:
https://www.racemine.com/Race-Place-Chip-Timing/Events/2013/Nisswa-Firecracker/results