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39m33s or ⊥!
(28 Sep 2008 at 14:25) |
Phew! That was freakin' brutal. But I did it: I got under 40 minutes (this time safely under at an official 39m33s) in this mostly-downhill 10K (6.21 miles). I prepared and trained a lot for this race (maybe not as much as the marathon, but still I took it pretty seriously) and yesterday was my first 29th birthday so I didn't really behave myself on Friday night, but I'm really glad I got my goal time so I can retire from the 10K distance. I hate that distance. Super long distances are painful, but not because I run at an uncomfortable pace, just that I do it for hours. I like that better. 5K is fine because you suffer bad but it's over in 20 minutes. 10K I feel like I am pushing just as hard (indeed my 5K split in this race was my fastest ever 5K and my time was less than twice my Run Around The Square time), just for twice as long. Pukey. The whole long uphill parts on 5th Avenue and Boulevard of the Allies I was continuously doing that giving up game, like literally visualizing myself pulling over to stop at a specific spot coming up twenty yards down the road, really succumbing to it, but then when I get to that point declining (it's really more like forgetting than declining). I don't know how to explain this, really. Anyway, it was definitely my hardest race. I'll run it again, but I currently don't feel any need to improve or match this time.
I don't have any race plans in the near future (basically, I'm heading back to full-time Pac Tommery) so you won't have to see this template for a while, but I must: ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED
Official 10K under 40 minutes |  |
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| The thing I hate about the 10K distance is that the pace <b>feels</b> slow when you're running it. It's a pace that feels sustainable forever, if you go out and run just a couple blocks or even a couple miles. But the full 10K distance at race pace never fails to be a humbling experience. |
| Maybe for you, but for me to run anything under about 6m45s/mi means constantly pushing myself and looking at the watch because it is unnaturally and uncomfortably fast. I much prefer to just get in the zone and go on for ages. |
| Finally, you're done with that achievement - now you just have to help me win 5 more setlists in RB1. |
Nice!
There's talk of running next year in costumes. If you're not going to be trying to break any records... |
| ha, I'm up for costumes! |
| RDR costumes, anyone? |
| Also, note that for me, 10K race pace is above 6:45 / mi. :p |
| Ooh, yeah RDR costumes! (If the RDR and my main conference don't overlap yet again this year!) |
| I only noticed one costume today. He was an Elvis, but he was running pretty strong. Another fun option if not trying to break any records would be to run in formation. There were some Marines doing it today. We could do it CMU-style. Think about it ;-) |
| "Game of Life" glider? |
| Haha, that might work |
| So are you going to make a special template when you finish Pac Tom, since it's such a big achievement? |
| good question. No need to worry about that for a while, though... |
| Actually, given that I made and used the template for my PhD, I think it isn't too mild for Pac Tom, which I call my PhD in running. |
By the way, thanks for your inspiration to run! I'm hovering around a 10 minute a mile pace right now, but I really enjoy it, and will hopefully improve over time. The only bummer is that every other day I don't run, and it's like, well, what did I get up for then?
You are a very inspirational person, since come to think of it, one of your projects also inspired me to make music when I had mostly given that up. |
You're welcome! That's a nice thing to hear...
You will certainly improve with time, though a surprisingly large part of this will be merely realizing that when your brain and legs and guts tell you that you must stop, you're only like half way there. |
| I just stumbled across your blog, after seeing your hockey photo in the 2013 Great Race. I found your observations about the 10K distance to be interesting, because I have rarely maximized my 10K race performance. The one time I magically did what it took to really squeeze everything out was the 2002 Great Race 10K, where I did 42:49, which I never matched before or since. I had to train very, very hard to be able to mazimize the 10K, because it seems to require considerable physical and mental tolerance of a certain level of pain, which is a step beyond semi-pukey, and perfect pacing (because going too fast will cause major slowdown in the last mile). A very difficult race distance for me to do my best in. |
| IT'S THE WORST |
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