Capitol 10K

I flew back after Cali week 1 to continue the sprint series with the Capitol 10K. I was more worried about this race than the previous two. My workout schedule had been disrupted by my week in Santa Clara, and I was still struggling to even run 6 miles continuously after getting used to the 5K distance and pace for races and training runs. Thankfully it was the perfect temperature the Thursday before the race and I was able to do 6.25 miles continuously from Santa Clara to downtown San Jose and back in something like 56 minutes. So, I knew I should be able to complete a 10K without stopping, at least.

I didn't post my goal this time, but if I remember correctly I originally thought 50 minutes was a good goal, then revised it to 55 minutes. I've done the Capitol 10K twice before, finishing a minute or two over an hour the first time and a minute or two less than an hour the last time. Those races I stopped at multiple water stops the second half of the race, and had to walk part of the way up the 15th St hill between miles 2 and 3. I figured I could shave some time off this year if I didn't stop for water and didn't walk, and figured if my pace was about the same, somewhere between 50-55 minutes was doable.

I went to Mark's party early Saturday night (happy birthday), and didn't stay out late hoping to rest up for the race. I fell asleep early (before 10), and as is becoming routine woke up around 1 am unable to get back asleep due to race anxiety and fear of oversleeping. So, when the race started at 8:45 am, I had already been awake for over seven hours.

The weather during the race was almost perfect. Perfect temperature (50F?) and dry, a 180 from the previous years which were either warmer or muggier. The only issue was that it was too sunny which made it hard to see running the second eastern facing half of the race. This 10K is really large, so if you're not right up front the first mile is going to be slow since there are so many slow idiots that line up too close to the start line. It was probably a good thing that I was held back because while the first mile felt like forever, I finished it in 8:30 which is faster than I thought it was and probably the right speed for me for the first mile. The second mile I was able to pick up and finished at a total time of around 16 minutes. The third mile is the one I usually end up walking on, and while I didn't do the hill very fast, I did manage to do it without stopping, so things were looking good at this point. I wasn't certain I would be able to finish without stopping, though.

My 5K split time was 24:46, a typical time for a training run and way slower than the two 5K races. That made sense. I knew I had to run slower to be able to do it twice. I started wondering if 50 minutes was possible but didn't think too much of it since I figured I'd slow down on the second half.

Well, I kept running, and I kept running faster. The last three miles were around 7:30-7:40 miles. I got a boost when I hit 5 miles and saw I was at 39:10, which meant my Turkey Trot goal of 40 minutes for 5 miles from last fall wasn't as ridiculous as I thought after my dismal finish at that race. I ended the 10K with a time of 48:45, less than an 8 minute mile average. That's my 10K PR, besting my previous Capitol 10K by 10 minutes plus.

Also, I was the only runner in my age bracket to climb a place (from 7th to 6th of 11) in sprint series cumulative time. With #5 at four minutes ahead of me and #7 at two minutes behind me, I'm guessing I won't be changing places after the next two races. One more 10K and one more 5K to go.