Morgan Hill Wildflower 10K
First time I've tried racing on two consecutive weekends... and I don't recommend it. Even taking it easy after my half-marathon, my legs felt like they were just coming around for race weekend. I had wanted to run this race in 2005 but was hurt. I went for it this year to make up for it, and because I hadn't run a 10K in almost two years.
The race being at the local school, we all had a chance to warm up on a track. I usually never warm up, but seeing how short the race was, I figured it couldn't hurt. After two or three laps I strolled the 50 yards down to the start, and soon the race was underway.
Once we were off, a bunch of youngsters blazed on ahead (damn kids!) and were soon out of reach. I ended up falling in with a lady who was running the same pace I was. Soon I passed her, but she passed me back. As we ran along the course, I started getting a little short of breath. Straining to stay close to her, I saw a sign up ahead. It came into focus, and I read... "Mile 1".
Uh-oh. Went out way too fast.
I backed off, and the lady pulled away easily. She ended up 1st OA female with a time of about 1 and a half minutes faster than me. I guess I have trouble judging the pace for a 10K race. After a first mile at 5:55 minute pace, I spent the rest of the race somewhere between 6:20 and 6:30.
The course was rural, and pretty deserted. Each turn was attended by a volunteer to ensure nobody got lost (perfect for me!) Besides a small number of cars on the street, I spent nearly the entire race from mile two to the finish by myself. I only passed one guy as well as two kids who were doing a 2K and felt obliged to high-five me as I went by.
I finished in 39:27, and I was pleased to have broken the 40-minute barrier. Despite my erratic pacing, I was within 10 seconds of the time predicted for me by a chart in Daniel's Running Formula (based on my half-marathon time). Those charts are eerily accurate.
Since the day was so nice I stuck around for the awards ceremony. I even ended up winning a door prize/raffle bottle of wine.
