So, last Sunday was my 10K goal race. The race all this speed and hill training has been leading up to. The 55-minute goal that I thought was a bit too ambitions.

Anyway … I lined up race morning thinking that while it’d be awesome to see a 55 on that clock, I’d be happy just to set a new PR. And even happier to break 57 minutes. My 10K PR was 57:26.

I started off running with a friend from our training team. While she’s naturally faster than me, her training was a little lacking. She decided she’d rather aim for my goal time than hers.

The first mile was a little slow, at 9:21. It was crowed, and we placed ourselves back a little too far in the pack. We had a bit of ground to make up if we were going to come close to that goal!

It got better.

2. 8:58
3. 9:10
4. 8:58
5. 8:55

I was feeling good. Kind of like in my last half marathon, when I started speeding up in the second half. I started pulling away from my running buddy after the fourth mile, and kept going strong.

My fastest mile was the last, at 8:40. Whoa! I gave everything I had left and ran the last .22 (well, that’s what my Garmin tracked) in 1:41, a 7:30 pace.

It unfortunately wasn’t a chip race, though. Garmin time is a little more solidly in my goal range at 55:45 … apparently I didn’t quite start with the clock. Official time is 55:57. But I say it still counts!

I’m now even more excited to see what I can do in my 5Ks this summer.

And actually I ran one yesterday. It was the graduation race for the club’s 5K training class, and they had pace groups that anybody could join.

Excellent! I decided that even though it was a bit too fast for me, I would try to start with the 8:30 pacer.

Only she started out REALLY fast. If my Garmin’s current pace reading was correct, we were at times over a minute-per-mile too fast. I gave up running with her, and just tried to keep her in sight.

She was at least 20 feet ahead of me as I passed the one-mile mark. The volunteers called out my time at 8:13. My mile alert beeped a few steps later at 8:22. That might be the fastest mile I’ve ever run, other than a couple of one-mile track races.

Mile two was a little harder, with a bridge and some gravel trails. I finished that mile in 8:51.

I was really hoping to be able to beat my best 5K (27:19 — I won’t count the 25:55 when the course was only 2.9), and I really wanted to break 27. I was in good shape.

And then, just as I took a turn after mile two, I was hit with the worst side stitch. I can usually run through them, but I had to stop to walk for a few steps. I grabbed my side and tried to keep running.

It wasn’t getting better. My speed slowed. But after running over the bridge again, it finally went away. Unfortunately, it took nearly the entire third mile. I finished that up in 9:53. Ugh.

I was able to pick it up to a 7:46 pace for the final stretch, finishing in 27:48. Even though it was a little disappointing, it’s really not a bad time for me — it’s my third fastest. If you don’t count that 25:55.

They posted age-graded results, and I finished 10th out of 57. Overall 75th out of 438. Yes, it was a women’s only race, and they had runners and walkers … but I’ll take it!

Since my concert schedule caused me to miss two speed workouts, I decided to make one of them up on Thursday.

I was worried about the weather. We could hear thunder when we got home, and the radar map made it look like a small storm system was moving through our area. But I still wanted to get my speed work in.

I did the math and wrote up a chart so I could match the mileage with my usual 400 meter sprints with a 200 meter recovery. I went up to 12 400s, but doubted I could make it that long on the treadmill! And just as I was ready to start, I checked the weather again.

The storm had moved on! So I hit the track instead. I wasn’t sure how many I’d do. I missed the 18×400 and 20×400 workouts, but I didn’t want to do that many. I wanted to do at least eight. And, well, I’m kind of an overachiever.

After a 15-minute warm-up, I was ready to go. I was still working with a 2:02 goal.

1. 1:59
2. 1:59
3. 2:03
4. 2:02
5. 2:02
6. 2:02
7. 2:06 — huh, getting a little sluggish
8. 2:09 –ugh
9. 2:03 — that’s better
10. 2:00
11. 2:04
12. 2:06 — maybe it’s just not my day
13. 2:08
14. 2:09
15. 2:05
16. 2:02

Yeah … not so good. Maybe it was the week and a half break from the track? Or was it my yoga class earlier that day — while I always have yoga the same day as my runs, it seemed like a hard (but good!) workout. I don’t know. I just wasn’t too thrilled with this run!

But things have picked up since then.

On Saturday, I ran a 10K. This was a warm-up for our goal race — what all this speed and hill training has been working up to.

I knew this race was hilly, and I wasn’t expecting to be able to do it at my 55-minute goal. (I think I would have a hard time with that on a flat course!) I would have loved just to break 57. I didn’t do either. But I was still happy with my race.

It was overcast at the start, and humid. I positioned myself where I thought was the middle of the pack, and we were off. Very early on, I got the feeling this was going to be a tough race. I looked down at my watch. Oops, 8:03 pace. That’s why! I slowed it down and finished the first mile in 8:47.

Mile two clocked in at 9:11, mile three at 9:27. Sure I was slowing down, but I was OK with that. Wow, there were a lot more hills than I was expecting!

Miles four and five were pretty rough. Both were 9:43. Somewhere in here, I was starting to think a sub-60 10K was a better goal!

But it got better. Mile six, 9:15. And I clocked the last .18 (says Garmin) in a mere 1:23. Why yes, it was a slight downhill finish 🙂

Final time: 57:31. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was only five seconds slower than my PR. (Note to self: always know what your PR is before trying to beat it.)

I had a good time, and received what is possibly the ugliest race shirt ever:

It makes me laugh. And is likely going straight to the donation pile!

And now I’m going to bring us back to the track. We’re no longer doing ridiculous numbers of 400s. We’re sticking to just eight, but trying to pick them up a little bit.

For my pace group, our coach suggested a few seconds faster than our previous 2:02, that we should go for sub 2:00. I didn’t expect to go quite this fast — or be able to maintain it! But here it is …

1. 1:52 (I thought “too fast!” when I saw the time)
2. 1:51
3. 1:51
4. 1:50
5. 1:43 (WTF? That’s a 7-minute pace. I double-checked to make sure I didn’t end the lap too soon. Nope. Right on at .25 mile)
6. 1:47
7. 1:49 (Before finishing this lap, I was feeling sluggish. Apparently not so much …)
8. 1:47

Huh. I really don’t know where that came from. We’ll see how close I get to my goal on Sunday!