The target today was to run a 10k. I did not have any races that I wanted to run and so I figured I would just run at race speed. This is difficult to do because though you might be running at what feels to be all out, NOT actually being in a race cannot take into account the nerves, adrenaline and just overall excitement that tends to make the runner go faster than they normally would on the same course (of course, the opposite has been known to occur also).
I figured I would just pick a flat course, something that would just show how I am doing and nothing to slow me down such as grueling uphills, or speed me up unrealistically, such as down hills, which I love. So my highly lovable partner dropped my off on the Syracuse trail (well, we were up in Clinton officially) and she was going further south to do a little shorter run. The intent was that we would just meet up after our runs.
I admit, I had some fears as soon as I started my warm-up. My legs just were not feeling right. They were not feeling refreshed, which I have not tapered down at this point so there is no reason for them to feel rested. So I warmed-up just a little more than usual. Very soon after I started my actual run I could feel my legs feeling much more normal. I decided I would just hold it around a 7:00 min mile pace for as long as I could. The interesting thing was, the longer I got into it the more I felt I could hold that for the entire distance (thank you mitochondria!). I finished at 43:48 and went exactly 6.22 miles ( I say that because it is not at all uncommon for races to be just slightly shorter due to the logistics). That is a 7:02 minute mile pace. I was very happy with that, but just became even happier about that because what I thought initially to be 5 seconds slower than my 10k PR was actually 8 seconds faster than my PR. So, I set a 10k PR today without setting out to do or even realizing it at first.
Other reasons I was encouraged by this is that this was basically a flat course. That means it was all me, no help or hindrance from anything. The second reason is what I mentioned before, these were not true race conditions, which I do tend to perform better in. Third, which I also mentioned, my legs are not fresh like they would be on race day. Fourth, I was actually running into a headwind. Not overly strong, but more than a breeze.
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