Another race done, some more rust busted, and 2nd for the women . . . .I’ll take it!
The Goldy’s Run 10 Mile was a new-to-me-race as I am still learning and navigating the racing scene here in Minnesota. In Alaska, I knew which races would feel more low-key, which ones would bring the best of the best competition, and how fast/slow each course was. But now I’m learning all about the racing scene here in Minnesota. Luckily I have other fast friends who fill me in and my coach has lived here her whole life, so that helps me as well. With this Goldy’s 5K/10 Mile race, the highlight is finishing on the University of Minnesota football field and watching yourself on the jumbotron, which was pretty cool.
The day before the race, we drove up to my sister’s and stayed overnight there since she lives in the Twin Cities area. I got up at 5:45 a.m. on race morning, got ready, had some breakfast, and then we left her place at 7:00 a.m. Parking was not the easiest to navigate, so I jumped out of the car while Craig parked, so I could start my warm-ups.
I spent about 50 minutes warming-up with a two mile jog, some stretches, drills, and strides. I felt nice and warm by the time they ushered us into the start area, but then got chilled waiting for 5 minutes until the race actually started. I wore this cropped long sleeve, which was actually perfect as my core gets warmer than my arms when I’m racing, so it kept my arms warm while allowing my core to stay a little cooler. I also wore these thin tights which are my absolute favorite when it is cool but not too cold. I love that they are so thin, lightweight, and don’t feel restrictive at all. For shoes I wore the New Balance SuperComp Elite v3. I actually never recommended them as the outside of the shoe comes up and hits your lateral malleolous (your ankle bone) in a really uncomfortable way. I ended up cutting the shoe a small amount, so they work for me, but I’ve heard a lot of other people had this same issue, so I never recommended them.
When the race started, I was aiming for a pace around 6:40 – 6:45 min/mi. I knew my fitness had improved since the 10K two weeks ago, so I was feeling optimistic I could hit this pace even with the rolling hills that I was told were on the course. I did my best to settle into the pace right away and came up real close on the first mile.
Mile 1 – 6:38
Mile 2 – 7:00
Mile 2 had a long, gradual climb with 88 feet of elevation gain, so it was a slower mile. We also lost 94 feet during that mile, but the steepness was a little too much for me to make it up in the decent. I settled into a better pace for the next four miles that took us through some neighborhoods, over a bridge, and along the river.
Mile 3 – 6:40
Mile 4 – 6:47
Mile 5 – 6:42
Mile 6 – 6:45
At mile 5 was a hairpin turnaround as we headed back to the finish. I planned to take my gel around the halfway point but forgot until almost 6 miles into the race. But I did take a gel; I may not have needed it, but I also didn’t have a huge breakfast. Mile 7 into mile 8 had a nice long gradual decent, which I definitely appreciated, used to catch my breath, and relax a bit.
The course was pretty sparse with spectators, which is always kind of a bummer, but I know this race doesn’t draw huge crowds. I heard a few people cheer for me, which I always appreciate, and one person even complimented my nails. Ha!
Mile 7 – 6:36
Mile 8 – 6:38
I knew there was a short, steep hill towards the end as we came up the river back onto campus, and that happened during mile 9. We climbed 109 feet, and my pace definitely reflected that, of course. I will say though, I still felt strong on these climbs given I have very few hills to train on. I give all that credit to my strength coach!
Mile 9 – 7:05
And mile 10 of the race weaved through campus and around the stadium, and it ended up being one giant wind tunnel. Bleh! Not the most ideal thing, but my pace stayed pretty consistent.
Mile 10 – 6:42 pace
As I ran into the stadium and across the football field, I saw myself on the jumbotron, which was pretty cool. I must have done a good job running the tangents because my watch showed me running just under 10 miles. (I will say there were parts of the course where I was running the straightest line while others took the curve on the roads/path.)
My official results:
Time: 1:07:28
Average pace: 6:45 min/mi
Overall place: 56th/1968
Women’s place: 2nd
Age group place: 1st
All in all, it was a good, solid effort. I think I could have taken off about a minute from my time without the wind and some of the steeper hills. I still have a lot of work to do, but I am optimistic it will come back. I ran the Twin Cities 10 Mile October 2022 in 1:06:38 and two months later I ran a 2:58 marathon at CIM, so hopefully I can get back to that level of fitness because I still love running fast and being a competitive runner.
