October 24th, 2006
Inside-Out Sports Classic 10K Wrapup
A little late in writing about the Inside-Out Sports Classic 10K from Sunday morning but I was waiting to see if the organizers found my time, which they unfortunately didnt. Somehow my timing chip malfunctioned or was lost in the system, I was contacted today by the race officials for my estimated time which I figure to be somewhere between 48 and 50 minutes. Like always I sprinted to the end and spent a minute or so catching my breath and drinking a water. I was so out of it at the finish I didnt even notice if they had a finish clock and used my heart rate monitor timer.
It was pretty cold in the morning and I actually was smart enough to take the free long-sleeve shirt they gave me and put it on under my running shirt. With no wind it felt like I could get away with short sleeves until I was actually out there walking around a few minutes. The half-marathoners started out first with the 10K going about 15 minutes later. I looked for my friend Adam Perez who had said he was doing the race also but never found him. The race started out up a hill and should’ve been a warning of what was to come as after we crested that hill we begin a steady downhill run till about the second mile. After the second mile or so the course changed into steep rolling hills, hills I hadnt realized were in Cary. It was a constant up and down for the next three miles. I kept myself paced by my heart rate monitor keeping it right around 80% of my threshold. Since I hadnt trained up enough I figured I wouldnt push myself too hard.
Right after the first mile the rain also set in, a steady cold drizzle that when combined with the already cold temperatures made things a bit miserable. With the running i wasnt shaking or anything but was definitely chilled but the constant movement kept me from being completely frozen. I stopped only once to drink a gatorade at the last water station walking breifly before picking the pace back up. There was an older gentleman that I would pass and then would pass me on the hills. At some point I decided he was the one I wanted to finish ahead of even though for the last mile in I was pushing my heart rate way up. It didnt help that the entire last mile was uphill without even a false flat to fool you into thinking it was ending.
With a half mile to go my heart rate monitor strap popped loose which drove me nuts. I kept running and trying to fix it for a block or two before finally pulling it out from under my shirt and carrying it. In that interim I lost the guy I wanted to beat as he was gaining ground steadily while I was goofing with my strap. We made the final turn onto Cary Parkway which was a bit steeper than the previous section and I could see the CVS where the finish line was. I didnt think I had anything in the tank but when I saw the line I was able to pick up the pace considerably. It definitely helped my monitor was now useless cause it probably would’ve been going nuts with my effort. I was able to close down the distance on the guys group quickly, passing 3 racers in the effort. When it came down to it though and we turned into the CVS parking lot he was out of reach. He got me by about 10 feet while I passed another runner right at the line. I doubt he knew I was chasing him but it definitely helped me to have a “rabbit” to hunt down.
I was spent at the line, stooped over for a few before ripping my chip off and dropping it in a volunteers bucket. I grabbed a water bottle off a table just past the finish and downed the whole thing then remembered that even though my monitor wasnt recording my heart rate the timer was still going and showed me just under 52. I figured that Id get the real time online later and would know my exact pace. I headed back to the store and even though it was stil raining I decided to hang around for the awards ceremony when I heard someone say it was only a half hour away and I had nothing to do. The finishers were generally one racer way in front for first and then second being a few minutes behind. When they announced my age group the winner was around 43 minutes which I realized if the trend followed I shouldve been close to that. I didnt expect the top three but held out some hope. When I wasnt there I decided to go look at the finish sheet to see where I stood. Thats when I found out that my time wasnt recorded and told an official who took my information and estimated finish time. This is the first time my time hadnt showed up but I guess there’s a first time for everything.
While Ill never be a fan of getting up that early in the morning the race was pretty fun and the most challenging 10K ive done. That could be either due to the hills or lack of preperation but either way it was a good challenge. It helped I had my mind focused on one thing the entire race to keep me busy. Sometimes it sucks to have a monkey on your back but sometimes that monkey you think about will push you and make you better. Guess we all need our monkeys to keep us going.
