Chattahoochee Challenge 10k

First race of the season, YIPPEE!!! Oh how I have missed 5 am wake up calls, driving to random venues and standing around in the cold. :)

My recent run training has left me a bit confused. It seems that my pace zones are off. I am not having any trouble hitting the more difficult workouts. Better yet, I am doing so at an extremely low heartrate. Of course this is a great problem to have. I like increasing the pace while maintaining a steady heartrate. However, it might suggest that my zones are off and it is time to increase them. Test time.

Dan and I headed up to Roswell early Saturday morning for the local 10k. We arrived around 7 and had to make the one mile trek to the packet pick up (read: annoyance). About 15 minutes before the race, I stepped back into the cold and loosened up. The body was feeling normal, no major issues going on, just looking forward to the run as much as I could.

I knew it was going to be a pr day for me. My 10k pr was during a subpar Peachtree last year where I ran a 45:52 (7:25s). In fact, on New Years Day I ran my own unofficial 10k and put together a 44:15 (7:08). However, I was really hoping to burst through the ceiling and have a solid race around 42:00. Dan predicted me to go sub 42. I can't say that I thought this would happen.

The plan was simply. I always seed myself to the front, jump out hard for the first quarter mile and then settle into my pace. I wanted to push a 6:45-7:00 pace until the three mile mark and then take the pace down to 6:40-6:50 for the next two miles and then blow it out on the final mile.

Well I got the jump I wanted and found space to run. I settled into a comfortable pace around 6:45 and started cruising. The course was relatively flat with a few minor annoying rollers and false flats. During mile two, my pace slipped a little but I was very comfortable. At mile three, the pace slipped a bit more. I was still on target as I hit the mile 3 marker under 21 minutes. So I begin to push a bit harder. And a bit harder. Well the body didn't like it. I tried to pick up the pace and it wasn't happening. My body was VERY comfortable with a 6:50-7:00 pace. So I decided to hold it until the last 1.5 miles.

When I hit mile 4.7 I pushed again. There was simply no pop in the legs. I kept trying to surge but I wasn't getting any faster. I was passing plenty of people but my pace wasn't increase. I held back for one last surge and pushed but it wasn't happening. I kept it at a tempo level and crossed the finish line with a chip time of 43:40. I had my unofficial time at 42:53 (6:55s).

Overall, it was a 3 minute pr for me. I know I should take great joy in this but I didn't have the race I wanted. I wasn't able to push when needed. My HR stayed really low. I only did 10 minutes of racing in z4 and NONE in z5. Either my body is telling me something or I didn't push it enough. However, I am finally happen to break through the sub-7 celing. I have been trying to do that for quite some time so I am thrilled about that result. Now, I need to work on getting the time under 42.....then 40.

Splits

Lap	Time	Distance	Pace/Speed	AHR	MHR
1	06m 48s	1.00 miles	06m 48s /mile	159	167
2	07m 00s	1.00 miles	07m /mile	167	169
3	06m 58s	1.00 miles	06m 58s /mile	168	171
4	06m 55s	1.00 miles	06m 55s /mile	169	172
5	06m 55s	1.00 miles	06m 55s /mile	168	170
6	07m 01s	1.00 miles	07m 01s /mile	167	171
7	02m 05s	0.32 miles	06m 34s /mile	169	171

Results:
Overall: 68/903
Mens: 61/472
Age Group: 9/71