Hot Dash 10 Mile - March 7, 2015

Today was my first race of the new 2015 season.  The Hot Dash 10 Mile.  This race begins and ends on the east side of the river by Nicollet Island, near downtown Minneapolis.  My 2015 race season starts out with a bang.  I have four races of varying lengths over the next eight weeks, which will put my winter speed and endurance training to the test and stretch me to my limits.  Speaking of winter training, an unseasonably cold February forced me to train on my treadmill all month.  So today’s race is my first outdoor run in just over a month.  Winter training has gone relatively well, in that I’ve had no injuries or setbacks.  Although I did come down with a bad case of the stomach flu just 36 hours before today’s race.  I was in no condition to run yesterday.  I simply went to work and then laid low all evening.  I woke up this morning still weak, but I’ve been able to keep things down for about 24 hours now.  I debated if I should skip the race today, but decided to give it a go, even if it turns into a training run vs. a competitive race.  My confidence level coming into the first race of each new season is always a bit questionable, because winter training is not like summer training due to the indoor approach I must embrace in Minnesota.  Just not sure how my legs will respond to the hard pavement, the outdoor elements, and then add to that my recent health setback.

Weather for today’s race was actually quite good for early March in Minnesota.  The skies were perfectly clear with bright sunshine.  The air temperature was 37 degrees at race time.  The only negative was a brisk 12mph NW wind that we would be running directly into over the first 4 miles of the race.  But I decided I would run in shorts and two thin shirts, light gloves and hat.  As the race began, I was intentionally tentative, running a 7:10 mile pace.  My goal was to get to the finish line, not to set personal records.  By the end of mile 4, we turned south heading back toward downtown again.  Beginning in mile 5, my mile splits improved to the 6:40 range.  Not sure if I was gaining confidence at this stage of the race, or if I was simply benefitting from having the wind to my back.  Either way, my improved pace was not a conscious decision on my part, it just happened.  I know my mid-race tendency is to begin competing with those around me.  Those who are running my same pace, or within sight, just ahead of me.  I want to beat them!  I don’t want them to do poorly.  In fact I want them to run well also, but I do want to beat them to the finish line.

With about 3 miles to go, we crossed to the west side of the river on Plymouth Avenue, for a short trek north again, before turning and heading south along West River Road to the old Stone Arch Bridge.  I hate this bridge, or at least the east end of it, because it eventually turns into cobblestones.  Nothing wrong with cobblestones, but this short stretch of cobblestones are very dangerous.  Uneven heights, with wider gaps between them.  Very easy to twist or roll and ankle if you aren’t very careful and at this stage of the race when fatigue is at maximum levels, safely navigating through this short section is easier said than done.  I’m familiar with the danger, as I’ve had other races over the years that use this bridge.  My second race through this section I badly rolled my ankle badly, but survived and continued on to finish.  Since then I’ve been very leery and keep my eyes to the ground to avoid the worse spots.  I made it through safely today, back onto Main Street with 4 blocks left in the race.

I finished with a time of 1:09:14.  My fifth fasted among seven 10 mile races I’ve run and three and a half minutes off my personal best.  But all things considered, I was happy with the result.  My faster 10 mile races all took place later in the season when my outdoor conditioning was much further along than today.  I finished 42 overall among 1,320 finishers and 2^nd in my age group of 32 finishers.  My overall race pace was 6:56/mile, as my speed improved as the race progressed.  I’m sure I will be good and sore this week after pounding the pavement hard for 10 miles.  But it’s March, so hopefully my training can transition to 100% outdoor training by end of month.  My next race is the March 21^st.  O’Gara’s Irish Run in St. Paul.  An extremely popular and competitive 8k race that brings out most of the top runners in the state each year. I ran this race 5 years ago and got smoked by the strong competition even though I ran a good time for me!  So now I’m doing this again five years later, five years older.  What’s wrong with this picture?   

Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=989&race=2839