The Gumbo Limbo Green Turtle Gallop 10K Race

April 03, 2011

Short: I ran a 10K race today with no tapering and over 55mpw done this week (I also had a streak of 12 days of running and 100mpw during that time that ended on Wednesday). Last PR was in weather close to the 50s and today was HHH (Hot Humid Hilly) and I still PR'd by 3 minutes (54:03).

Long:

Today I ran the Gumbo Limbo Green Turtle Gallop 10K. I swear that's the true name of the race (check active.com if you don't believe me). The proceeds of the race are used for endangered species of turtles that hatch in and around the beachpark where the race started.

I came up to the race not knowing what I'd do. I did not want to race this because I've been running 6 days a week, 50+mpw and still doing the kickboxing workouts like crazy. I did no tapering, and in fact, ran 9.28 miles yesterday morning, and did 55 minutes of kickboxing and 20 minutes of yoga late last night. Also, one of my calves is very tight and I did not know whether it would cramp during the race.

I woke up at 4:40am to be able to leave by 5am. The race was in Boca Raton which is around 45 minutes from my house. I took a Larabar, a banana, and 8oz of Gatorade with me for breakfast. I ate on the way while I drove and while I tried to wake up.

When I reached the park, it was 6am. I found a parking spot 10 meters from packet pick up and picked my packet up. They gave me a Large T-Shirt so I had to hop back to get the right one (not that I used these for anything but I'm definitely not a Large).

I stayed in the car until 6:45am and even tried to sleep a bit without success. I started a warmup run at 6:55am. I should have known this was going to be hilly when my warmup consisted on going up and down a hill.

Temps were 72-77F and humidity was at 81%. Not horrible, but not good either. We all lined up at the start and I noticed that although it was chip timed, there were no mats at the start, which meant it would be really gun time.

I stood around at near the 5th or 6th road from the front. I heard people talking around me about finishing in 44:XX so I thought of moving back but since the lady besides me was doing 10mm, I decided to stay there. And we were off!

Mile 1: I started running by feel. By the first 0.50 mile I looked at the Garmin and I was doing 8:36mm which is close to the pace McMillan believes I can run a 10K (8:32mm). However, I also knew it was HHH, so I ran conservatively today. I saw a lady preparing a water station to the right at Mile 0.62 (it was for mile 6), so I picked a cup and threw it over my head. Yeap, it was going to be one of those days. Oh, I noticed I screwed up my iPod order when I synced it last night because the first song was a salsa. Pace: 8:36mm.

Mile 2: Mile 2 takes us through a neighborhood and I start seeing a hill. For you non-Floridians it was tiny, but for us running in 0 elevation, this uphill made me slow down a little. Pace: 8:37.

Mile 3: They had warned us that there was a construction area between Miles 3 and 4. They were not kidding! The construction area started just after Mile 3 and the incline would not end. Oh, and more water over my head. I saw the winners coming back already while I was still finishing Mile 3. Pace: 8:43.

Mile 4: The turnaround came in and I had to loop back the way I came from. For some reason this is the only mile that was long (0.03 long). Maybe it was the turnaround and I took it too wide or maybe it was all the people I was passing (I passed more than passed me). More water over my head and as I tried to drink it, I ended up getting it in my nose and iPod. Pace: 8:50.

Mile 5: I start recovering from the long mile and pacing well. It's getting sunnier and hotter and the incline continues. I don't think I ran in flat terrain at all after Mile 1, but then I saw the return route and I realized Mile 1 was downhill, not flat at all. Oh, and my foot got caught up in a little hole on the pavement and I said, not again!. This caught the attention of a guy that was running besides me. I just smiled and waved. Pace: 8:46.

Mile 6: We got out of the neighborhood and I saw what was coming: a HILL! Not an incline like the other 5 miles, but a HILL. Then I wondered, I don't remember running that and yet, that lady with the first water station is right there. Pluck! It was never ending; I think it lasted for more than half a mile. I killed it though. Then, we entered the park going downhill, and uphill, and downhill until we finally passed by my car and I saw the finish line in sight. Pace: 8:40.

0.20: At this point I tried to sprint but the fact that my top and skirt felt like they weighed more than me because of all the sweat and water in them, sprint was hard to do. I was passed by this dude that walked most of Miles 5 and 6. He went on an all out sprint (I guess he wanted to look good for the cameras because he was struggling for the last two miles). Pace: 8:00.

Overall, I did awesome. However, I ran conservatively, mostly because I was tired, I did no taper, and because of the weather. McMillan says I can do 53:02 and I know I can. Today felt easy; not easy easy but a tempo run easy. So, had the weather been different, had I actually trained for this race and taper, or had the course been flat, I would've gotten a bigger PR. But a 3 minute PR from January 2011 in 25 degrees warmer it HUGE!

Time: 54:03, 10th in my AG.

Next: I have to run 8 more miles today and I have a 5K next weekend.