Turkey Day Run

There's a 10K race in Kenosha on Thanksgiving Day. I had been considering signing up since last week. Since race day registration was available (though it won't be next year), I decided to make a game-time decision. The weather was a bit cold, but with rain and snow out of the forecast, I got the tights out of the drawer and made my way to the Kenosha Lakefront at 8 a.m. this morning. I had plenty of time to sign up, warm up, and be ready to run. I chatted with SCJ running buddies Gerry and Ken before the race. I also talked with Pastor Dean, the senior pastor at KBC, where I attend on Sundays. He was walking the 2-miler, but his son, Luke, ran the 10K.

My last 10K race was in 2007, when a crazy course mix-up resulted in me being the first person to complete the entire course. I finished in 49:22, a personal best despite covering a small portion of the course three times over. Though I haven't been doing much speed training lately, I knew that the strong cardio base from training for my 50-miler would make it likely to break that record.

The race started a minute or two after 9. My plan was to start out at 8:00 / mile pace and gradually speed up throughout the race. As we headed north from the downtown area, I clocked the first mile in 7:59. Mile two continued north on trails in parks along the lake. I saw Luke and passed him -- he was targeting to run between 8:00 and 9:00 pace, so he was doing great.

As I approached the turnaround near Carthage College, I counted the runners in front of me. This was a pretty popular race -- when I made the turn, my count was at 137. I did not feel tired at all, so I decided to see how many I could pick off before the finish.

My pace quickened a little bit in miles 4 and 5, and I passed about 8-10 people. Looking back, I probably should have gone even faster, because I had more than enough left in the tank for the final stretch. ZOOM! For the last 1.22 miles, I was running at 6:47 pace, including a final quarter-mile sprint at about 6:11 pace.

I finished in 47:28, taking about two minutes off my personal best. Congrats to Luke, who finished in 49:08 (7:56 pace). Well done!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My mile splits:
7:59, 7:55, 7:51, 7:43, 7:39, 6:58, 1:23