Finding a 10k has been a tough job. It seems like such a rare race around my town. In fact, the last time I ran a 10k was almost 4 years ago to the day.
Going back into the archives, I found that my first official 10k was when I was 20 years old. Thankfully, the records have been deleted from the interwebs so there is no evidence of that horrible race. It took place on July 29th, in the heat of the summer on a very hilly course. I was unprepared and under trained.
My second 10k was the following year when I was 21 and preparing for my final season of college basketball. Once again I ran a race on a very hilly course which had the finish on a sandy beach; worst decision ever - trying to sprint on sand was horrible. This race also marked the time when I ran 3 hard races in a course of two weeks. A 10k on June 24th, a 5 mile race on July 4th, and the Boilermaker 15k on July 8th. I don't know why I thought I could run those races back to back to back, but I did and it was tough. Currently, I believe my 10k PR is 48:16 from my 2007 race.
So the next question is...how do you race a 10k?
It is definitely not a race where you can run really fast because you know its going to be over soon - that's a 5k. And it is definitely not a race where you start off at a cruising pace and the painful part (normally) isn't until the final few miles - that's more like a 15k or half marathon.
Hopefully it fits in between those two types of races because basically 10k pace is supposed to be about tempo pace. And tempo pace is supposed to be the pace you can race at for about 50 to 60 minutes.
We will see how tomorrow goes. At least the weather forecast is calling for rain! Have a great weekend!
Friday, June 10, 2011
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16 comments:
I am racing a 10km on July...the first 10km race I have done in ........ 4 yrs maybe? I am not exactly sure. I am starting to training with my tempo pace in intervals (10min) and building from there. The goal will be to run sub tempo the whole race.
.....of course...the best laid plans.....
good luck!
I have a love-hate thing for 10K's. Short enough to hurt and long enough to hurt! lol
Good luck!! You're going to crush that 48!
10k's are definitely the most difficult. I haven't run one since January 2008 and I'm dreading its return!
It's so funny that I ran across this post today. I was just thinking this morning about my 6mi run I have on the training schedule for tomorrow, and how long it's been since I've raced a 10k (not counting one I did in Feb that I ran with my wife to support her on her first 10k). It's my most out-of-date PR by far. Matter of fact, my 15k PR was set at a faster pace than my 10k PR, lol!
Anyway, good luck with your race tomorrow!
Good luck with your race! I'm doing a 10k tomorrow as well. My only strategy is to make sure I don't start too fast so that I avoid dying in the second half. :)
good luck tomorrow!! Oddly i feel like here i have trouble finding things under 13.1
Good luck! I am doing my first 10k next weekend and am trying to figure out how to run it too. I am great at 5ks and have done a few 5 miles, but never a 10k. I am thinking it is like a more painful 5 mile, which for me is still pretty painful, and I love it
I've done one 10k and I agree that it's a hard distance to find. I also really liked it though, as I find longer distances are what I enjoy.
I hope your race went well!! 10K races are really hard to find here too. Unfortunate because I think it would be a distance I'd like to do more of.
I think tempo pace is a good plan! We have quite a lot of 10ks around here, must be lucky!
I ran a 10k as well today! It is actually one of my favorite distances, but unfortunately I wasn't able to train very well because of my stress fracture. My goal for today was just to finish, and I did! Took it nice and easy. It was a great, women-only race with an amazing atmosphere, so I soaked it in (and thankfully it didn't rain on us!)
Hope you had a great race, can't wait to read about it!
I hope your race went well! :)
I have just been thinking of this too!! I have a 10K coming up in a few weeks and have been wondering what my strategy should be. Can't wait to hear how yours went!
I agree- 10K's are hard to find. In fact so are 10-milers which I also love!
So the next question is...how do you race a 10k?
You are bang on, it is so hard to race a 10km road race. I still struggle with my 10km races, and I find the key is to focus on staying as mentally tough and focused from the 3 to 7km marks. If that means going out a tad slower in the first few kms, do that. The last 3km till be tougher than any of the others that came before, but knowing the finish is within sight will help.
Good luck on your next 10km!
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