Saturday, May 28, 2011

Hospital Hill 10K Pre-Flight!

The 2011 Hospital Hill 10K is next Saturday, and today I ran the course for the first time.  I've ran bits and pieces of this course during other Kansas City races before, but never this particular 10K course.  It was awesome to get a feel for where the tough parts are and where you can accelerate.  And, thankfully it wasn't as tough as I thought it would be - but there are two fairly steep hills, especially for a short speed race.


I've never ran a 10K for speed before, so no matter what time I run, it'll be a PR!  And at this point, I have a particular goal in mind ... but I'll share it with you after the race so as not to "JINX-IT"!!! (Or errr, so I won't have egg on my face if I don't meet it!)

In the 2010 Kansas City Half-Marathon, which is a fairly similar course, I ran miles 5-10 with the following splits:
6:19, 6:34, 6:39, 6:50, 6:11, 6:20 ... average pace of 6:28/mile
So I think I should be able to run a 10K a little faster than that ... right?  At least that's sort of the plan, but we'll see.  But the problem is - I'm not really sure how to approach a 10K.  I mean a 5K is basically a controlled sprint ... at least for me.  I hate 5K's!!! It's cool going fast and all, but my heart feels like it's gonna pound through my shirt, and my legs go numb.  So I would welcome any 10K advice from some of you veterans! (Not military vets, although they are welcome to comment too! In fact, yes ... only military vets!  Wait, that really limits the field ... okay, veterans of 10K races ... and anyone else.) 

Plus, it seems at times that I have trouble getting properly warmed up for 5K's, and I'm sorta expecting the same thing for the 10K.  As I get older, it seems like my stiff body takes a while to heat up.  If they would let me run 10 miles and then take my best 6.2 I would probably have a faster time.  I think I'll run it by the race committee and see if I can work that out.  Probably not!
...be great today!

9 comments:

  1. You are going to kill the 10k! Goodluck.

    10k is my favorite distance. After mile 1 ask yourself can I give more? If the answer is yes push it and remember you can push yourself pretty hard for just 5 miles. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've run about 7 10K's I think and my best advice would be to treat it like a half marathon with just a bit more juice (as in pedal to the metal). You're really fit right now so take advantage of that. Go on the safe side, leave yourself seconds on the plus side, that by mile 3 - 4 you know you can shave off later. That's what I do anyway :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ah, you'll do great!

    I'd look up the predictor for your 10K on McMillan and then just try to start and finish at the same predicted pace. A Little different than a 5K.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've only run 1 10K ever, so I have no idea on how to run them, haha I will say I really like the 10K distance, it is just long enough but just short enough. Your mile splits from last year are insane, you are seriously a monster out on the race course. Possibly getting in the top 10 in a race? Ridiculous. haha

    Anyways, I would just try to go out a little slower for the first mile, pace the hill with solid effort (but don't expend too much), then try to blast off when the hill levels off and pick people off. I'm a big heartrate runner, so maybe use that as a guide as for when you might be redlining it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I totally agree with Small Town Runner. I use McMillan in this way, often because I run all of the race distances - 2 mile - 26.2. You may want to go out the first mile or 2, a little slower than the prediction because that hill at 4 miles will be ugly, especially ugly @ 10k effort.

    I warm up about 1.5 miles before a 5k or 10k. I have to get my breathing regulated. I also time my warm-up to end, as close as possible, to the start of the race so that my heart rate is still up. I can NEVER figure out how runners can warm up 40 min. prior to the start time, stand around for 20-30 min., and then be able to breathe that first mile. I would die!

    Can't wait to read your thoughts, post race. Go get 'em!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hope that it was GREAT and you slayed that beast!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Jim! I am running the Bolder Boulder 10K tomorrow and just talked to my husband about race strategy. He suggested (because I tend to let the excitement get to me and go out way too fast for the first mile) that I run that first mile at the same pace as my average for the 10 miler that was my best recent race. Aim to stick to that pace on the hilly miles (which unlike your race come soon in mine). Then, on the downhill parts after mile 3.5, start letting myself speed up and then aim to really rip the last mile. I'm also going to do a slow warm-up of at least a mile.

    Not sure how to translate that to your situation, with that elevation profile....Probably you need to take advantage of those relatively flat early miles, but you don't want to go too fast ahead of that hill.

    No matter what you do, I agree you're going to kill it. Have fun! (And if I make any horrible mistakes in my race I'll share w/ you--hopefully that won't be necessary...)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have no advice because I've only ever run a virtual 10K. You can go faster than a marathon, the distance is shorter. Above all, enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by ... your comment's always welcome!