Hal Higdon Advanced 10k Training
Week of 4/24/2016
351.68 miles completed in 2016
78.43 miles completed in April
171.70 of 222 miles completed in pre-10K plan
16.59 of 20.5 miles completed this week
It's finally here. My first ever 10k. It didn't go quite as I had hoped, but a PR nonetheless. There were pros and cons, things learned, etc. but more on that later. All in all it was a good experience, but wish I would've done a little bit better.
4/24 - 3 miles planned, no run completed
So, I moved this run to yesterday due to not having a hydration method for a longer run in the temps of yesterday. I bought a hydration pack as previously mentioned, and was excited to try it out, but weather and life weren't very cooperative. I woke up to a nasty thunderstorm raging, so I decided it wasn't a good time to go run. By the time it started to clear my wife and I had to go run some errands. After that I went to ref soccer, which I found out was cancelled when I arrived at the field. Ugh!!! So I returned home, and it was getting later than I wanted to go run. And to make matters worst the only way to and from the soccer field I ended up not needing to ref on was to drive past Prince's Paisley Park compound. Due to his untimely death earlier in the week driving past there was a nightmare.
3/25 - 30 minute tempo run planned, 19:42 tempo run completed
I started out to run my final little tempo run of the training session. Lightening limited the run again. Things were going well and I could've finished it if it wasn't for safety concerns. 2.32 miles in 19:42, an 8:29 average pace.
4/26 - 6x400m Intervals planned, 6x400m Intervals completed
I managed to get this run in with no problems today. I'm getting better at waking up early to run now that the soccer season has begun and I ref most evenings. I hit 3 of 6 intervals on pace and was a little fast for the other three. Things seem to be lining up for a good run, but I know I can get in my head sometimes. 5 miles in 45:34, a 9:06 average pace
4/27 - 3 miles planned, 3 miles completed
I've made it to the final run of my training plan before the race. It was a easy run and no issues were encountered. 3 miles in 25:50, an 8:36 pace.
4/28-29 - rest days
These two days were rest days before my race on Saturday. I took it easy, the game I was supposed to ref was cancelled due to rain so the days became even easier. On Friday I did head over to the park where the race start/finish was and picked up my bib and shirt.
4/30 - Race day
The day was finally here. The day for me to race my first 10k. I had a goal of 48 minutes which would require a pace of 7:43/mile. I was't completely sure that was attainable, so I had decided weeks ago that I would be happy with anything under 50 minutes, which is an 8:03 pace. I figured I could start with the 8:00 pacer and see how it went from there. The first mile was a little slow, about 8:12, due to course congestion. The pacer then picked up the pace and had us back to an 8 minute average by the second mile marker. I think this quick uptick in speed took more out of me than expected. I would've preferred a more gradual move back to the 8 minute average. We definitely had the miles to make it up over a few miles instead of in 1 mile. This was the first lesson learned. Run your own race, not the race of a pacer. I was able to keep with the pacer for the next couple of miles, where we had returned to running 8 minute miles consistently. I grabbed some water around the half way point and managed not to choke on it, which was a shock to me. Around this time my shoe came untied as well. It was still tight and I didn't want to lose momentum by stopping to tie it. around 4.5 miles I started getting in my head and thinking I couldn't keep up the pace I was running at for a whole 10k. I had never run that far that fast and I had slacked during my peak week. All sorts of things were getting in my head. This was a bad time for that to happen. I ended up easing of the 8 minute pace some. I ran mile 5 in 8:33, but was only about 20 seconds off the 8 minute pace. I picked it up a little and figured I still had a strong chance at getting under 50 minutes. The final hill was approaching and unfortunately my shoe was getting too loose to continue running. I decided I'd make it to the top of the hill before stopping as not to loose momentum. On the bridge after the hill climb I finally broke down to tie my shoe. This is where things really got lost. Whatever awkward position I was in caused my whole left leg to fall asleep. I tried running and felt like my left leg was just going to give out with every step I took. I ended up walking for a couple of minutes to get me leg to wake back up. This is where I lost my goal of a 50 minute 10k. This was the second important lesson learned. Double knot your shoes for safety. Mile 6 was completed in 9:39, terrible. I finished strong and hit the line at 51:53 for an average pace of 8:20. Was it what I wanted, no. Can I live with it, yes. There are two reasons I can live with my time. First, and most important, it's faster than my brother's time from 2014 by over 2 minutes, and beating those times is what started this whole journey. Second, it is faster than what I have listed as my goal time for Dopey in 2017, which is aligned for a dream run of sub-7 hours for all of Dopey.
There it is. My first 10k in the books. Training for my 10 miler, and first attempt at POT, begins next.