The Iron Horse Half Marathon, 10K and 5K drew a total of 1315 people to Simsbury on a picturesque Sunday morning. I competed in the 10K and finished with a time of 1:01:21. Considering this was the longest continuing run I've made this millennium, I went in with no expectations. I finished at a pace of 9:53/mile. This is neither good or bad in my eyes. I expected to be right around an hour for the 6.4 or so miles and I was right there. This was a considerable improvement from my previous "long" run of 1:00:20 for 5.4+ miles in the Salmon River Run less than a month ago. However, this course was much flatter, not on any trails and the weather was much more pleasant for running.
Arriving about an hour before the 8:00 a.m. scheduled start, there were already over 1000 people roaming the grounds surrounding the Simsbury Band Shell. Dozens of vendors pushed there products to all of the bright eyed and bushy tailed competitors and it was tough not to notice the positively unbalanced proportion of women-to-men taking part in the festivities. The 10K started right at 8:00 with the Half and 5K starting at 8:15. This led to the first mistake of my day. Approaching the 1-mile marker, I was at a time of 7:15. This blew me away. I felt as though I was going at a solid pace, but knew this was much too fast for me to keep up. So I immediately slowed down. That went on for two minutes until I noticed another 1-mile marker at 9:25. Turns out the first clock and marker was for the Half Marathon runners, not for the 10K. It took me miles until I found another comfortable pace and probably cost me a few minutes in the end.
The second mistake was just after Mile 2. I thought it would be a good idea to scoff down some Vanilla Bean NU Energy Gel. I immediately regretted this decision. This junk is gross and definitely led to the painful cramp I had to work through around Mile 4.
The most positive aspect of this run was that I finished the race pretty strong. I'm willing to bet my final mile was my fastest and it surely had a lot to do with throngs of fans who came out to cheer on yours truly towards the finish.
Well, maybe it was only my brother Chris and his girlfriend Kim, but it was a definite boost nonetheless. I was impressed with both the early rising on a Sunday and the artistic ingenuity with the sign. However, nothing that took place on the streets of Simsbury could beat the victory brunch that Kim put on following the race. The food was great and they can expect big brother George at their doorstep every Sunday from here on out. So get planning and cooking for next weekend Kimmy!
The official photo of the event is here.
Great time for the 10k! Gel at mile 2? The calculator I sent you said first gel should be around mile 6. Try some different kinds to see how your body reacts, I settled on GU espresso flavor and caffeinated. Have you tried the electrolyte pills?
ReplyDeleteI need to try the pills... i didnt need the energy gel, i was just sick of carrying it in my pocket... maybe it would have tasted better at Mile 6..
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