Papa John's 10 Miler

Yesterday was the Papa John's 10 Miler, the 3rd leg in our local Triple Crown of Running.  After a successful Rodes City 10K, in 51:19, my running partner Scott and I decided to give it a good go at coming in under 90 minutes.  Last year, I tried for sub-90 but just missed it, in still a PR, at 1:30:19.  So just like the Rodes, we set our watches for a good pace and went for it.

The race starts out nearly flat, with perhaps a very very slight uphill grade until you reach Iroquois Park where the hills begin.  Then you go back to flat or very slightly downhill until you reach mile nine where there is a bridge then into the football stadium for a finish on the field turf.  So essentially it's about 1/3, flat, 1/3 rolling, 1/4 flat, and then that last hilly mile over the bridge. 

We were going to try to pace ourselves better with our watches set to 8:25 pace, or coming in at 1:25 for the whole thing.  The first 3 miles were: 8:11; 8:11; and 8:30.  Then we headed into the park for the rollers. As we entered the park, we decided to try to "break even," neither gaining or losing any time.  Then we could see how we felt as we headed for the final four miles. 

The in the park miles were: 8:20; 8:20; and 8:27--just perfect for our pacing goal and successfully breaking even.  That left us with four miles and a nice cushion. 

Miles seven through nine were: 8:06; 8:23; and 8:22.  With our goal pace being 8:25, we knew we had it, even with the mile over the bridge still in our way.  The final mile was 8:34, for a grand total of 1:24:33, or a PR by nearly six minutes. 

One thing I've noticed as I've gotten faster over the last couple years, is that my HR data shows that my aerobic health has finally started to sync with my legs. In the past, I've found that my legs are moving about as fast as I can go but my HR was very low.  I guess that's good in a way, as it shows my aerobic fitness.  But now that I'm able to push my legs a lot harder, my HR isn't staying so low.

Saturday is a half-marathon I did last year.  It's very hilly so not expecting a PR, but I am expecting to best my time from last year.