Del Distance Classic 15k RaceReport

A bit overdue, but here we go:

Weather was ideal. Cold fall morning, not a cloud in the sky. I think the start temp was around 45. Some runners had gloves or arm panties. I like to run in the cold so I was as bare as possible.

Since I know the course and this race is very close to my house I had volunteered to help with set up. I put up a few banners for our club (race sponsor) and the RRCA. But there really wasn't much else to do. Being a local race, plus the good club turnout, I saw lots of folks that I know. I pretty much said I would go out at a PR pace and just hope to hold it. This was based on PDR Half marathon 3 weeks earlier, and I felt rested/hadn't pushed too much in the week leading up to this race.

I did very minimal warm up - which for me is typical of 'longer' races. My outlook is "the first mile is the warm up for anything over 10k." Actually I farted around long enuf that I barely got my Gu on time & then changed into my race shoes before it was time to line up. I tried to be about 5 or 6 rows deep figuring that 50 or 60 guys in front of me is about right for the finishing order with a race of this size (300 entries). As it turned out I crossed the line 45th so that's just about right.

It's cool how during the first mile some of the runners along side will end up being far ahead, and others will be way behind. Only a few match my pace all the way. I enjoy noticing stuff like that. A few young kids were on the front line. I passed them within the first half mile. I fell in behind Greg Vitale (who I was introduced to after the race, but I already recognized from the circuit) who was obviously running together with a woman (maybe they are in the same club?). Anyway, as we approached the 1 mm he accelerated away never to be seen again, and I was left running alongside his partner. As things worked out, she & I spent the entire race trading the pacing efforts, spoke just a bit over the course, and met after the finish. Matching up with somebody about the same speed as myself is a huge advantage during a race. Keeping up with Mary, and trading the pace making with her, definitely helped me PR this race. The early splits:
1 - 6:45 PERFECT PACE FOR NEW PR!
2 - 6:58 small uphill
3 - 6:41 the downhill
4 - 6:41

It was during that forth mile that I really decided I would try to stay with Mary's pace. The water station at ~3.25 slowed me a bit (hydration is key for me when going longer than about 5 miles). I fought hard to catch back up with her along the Riverwalk boards section. I remember seeing my 4 mile time, 27:05, and thinking 1 minute under a 7:00 min mile pace ... 7x4=28 ... math is so difficult when giving 100% effort . . . wait for it . . . ah ha, 6:45 pace thru 4 miles. I knew this was right on track for a PR. But could i hold this pace? The middle splits:
5 - 6:48
6 - 6:59
7 - 6:56

There's a water stop just after the 5 mm - I really wanted to slow down and drink a full glass. It wasn't the water so much as I just wanted to slow down. Do you ever get that feeling during a race? It used to happen to me alot, but not often the past few years. Anyway, I knew I'd lose 5 or more seconds to Mary and so I just got a small splash to gulp down. She moved ahead on the small hill at 5.5 and I tried to make it back on the downhill side. I was pushing hard here and after the turnaround point we approached the same hill again. I forced myself to catch up with her before the hill. I felt like I was working very hard. I was actually weezing a bit at the top of the little hill, and then on the way down, past the 7 mm, I saw several runners going up from the opposite direction (they were at 5.5) and I got a boost of energy from exchanging greetings. Later at the finish line when Mary & I introduced ourselves she said "well I know your name's Dean from so many people calling out to you on the course." Mental math game #2: at 7mm my time was 47:48 which I figured was close to 48 mins. 7x7=49 so now I was still about one minute faster than 7 min.pace. Not good since i was slipping away from PR pace. I told myself I still had a shot if I could accelerate ever so slightly over the last miles. We were side by side thru the water station at 7.25 ... I didn't even think about any more water breaks. This race was oN!

Through the 8th mile Mary & I traded position several times and I tried to push the pace. The split was 6:52 Ugh, not fast enough to guarantee a PR. This was going to be very close. Starting at about 7.75 mm I decided to play the game where you try to pick off a runner (or 2) in front. We had been gaining on the solo runner in front of us, and so I put in a push to close the gap. We caught & passed at around 8.25. Turns out he was a runner I know thru some other folks (Chuck from Y). He didn't seem to be working too hard because he was able to give me a few words of encouragement to which I could only reply "garble gurgle". I tried to say something (what?) but I swear it came out all mish-moshed and I'm sure it was completely un-intelligent. Whatever. I'm working hard over here. He's striking up a conversation like this is an easy effort or something!

At this point I was no longer aware of Mary's location. She was behind me but I don't know how far. I focused onthe guy in front of me. But he began his own finishing burst and really took off away from me. As I approached the 9 mm there was no one in front of me within striking distance. That other dude had moved up to a small group and was passing all of them, but they were too far ahead for me to even think about it. I really focused on my own thing at this point. Strong finish, don't let anyone catch & pass me, run for the PR now. Mile 9 split was 6:44. Yes. I'm doing it. Total time now 1:01:24 with a third of a mile to go. Mental math #3: if the final stretch takes 2:30 I'll still get a PR by a few seconds. And if it's more like 2 mins flat then I'm totally rockin' this PR!

I cover the last .3 in a 2:09 and PR with 1:03:33 which is about 30 seconds better than last year's race. Chuck was only a few seconds behind me, and Mary another 5 seconds back. Wow, good thing I didn't let up because they both would've passed me.

I worked so hard during this race. This was an evenly measured out effort with the pain spread across the entire distance. I've certainly had races where I felt more pain, but those were all bad situations when I had gone out too fast and couldn't hold pace. I really worked my ass off for this race. This has got to be one of the best executed races I've ever done. Honestly, I don't know how i could ever get another 15k PR without somehow getting my fitness level lifted up one whole step to a new plateau. Because for the level of fitness I have now, this race was run to the max for the full 15k's. Very satisfying. But I'm not sure where to go from here and how on earth to get there? One observation of this race: I was focused 100% on the race effort for the entire distance. Usually that happens for me during a 5k or 5 mile, but longer races are always marked with a 'zone-out' during the middle somewhere. Usually I catch myself checking out the scenery, or spectators, or architecture, etc. This is the first time I remember almost nothing except the race effort itself.