2016 CARA Lakefront 10 Miler Race Recap

This was my first time running the CARA Lakefront 10 Miler. It's a shame I haven't run it before, since it's such a good time and only a 10 minute drive from my house. I won't plan on missing this race in the future!

 

Goal: Since it's now only four weeks until Carmel, my goal was to use this race as a tune-up and also to get a good idea of what my marathon pace should be for the race next month. Since the weather was near perfect for racing (upper 30s, 8 mph wind), my goal was to run a smart race (i.e. start slow) and shoot for a 10 mile PR (sub 1:04:02).

Getting To the Race: At about 7:50 am I drove east down Foster until I reached the parking lot at about 8:00 am. 

Pre-Race:  I stopped my car near the mile 1.5 of the course to collect my BRC shirts from Annabelle who was working the aid station there. Then I drove another half mile south to snag a parking spot closer to the start/finish area. I sat in my car for 15 minutes drinking coffee until I decided it would be a good time to use the porta-potties.

After the porta-potties, I headed over to the Ragnar tent to visit Mo who was working there. I chatted with Mo and then Melanie came over to introduce herself, and we finally got to meet her IRL! Eric showed up and we talked a little more. I went over to bag check and bumped into Kim and we chatted briefly.

Me, Eric and Mo

After bag check it was off to the start corral. In the corral I bumped into Efriam and Janessa and we chatted a bit before the national anthem. The horn sounded and we were off!

The Race

Miles 1 and 2:  At the start it seemed like there were quite a few runners shooting off at a super fast clip and I had to remember that the race also had a 5k option, so I realized that the heavy breathing headphone wearing set were probably only running 3.1 miles and not 10. I might have held back too much as I saw my first mile was a 6:40. However, I told myself that there were plenty of miles to make it up. Annabelle cheered me on at the first aid station. 6:31/mile.

Miles 3 and 4: It was time for the first of two ascents of Cricket Hill. I knew this one would be easy compared to the one I would have to do during mile 10. After running up and then down the hill, things flattened out as we headed south on the Lakefront Trail. There was a nice tailwind which made life easier. 6:20/mile.

Having fun racing on the LFT  (source)

Miles 5 and 6:  We circled Diversey Harbor and headed north into the wind. I was passing quite a few runners. 6:18/mile.

Miles 7 and 8: I tried to keep a 6:15 pace, but the wind was not letting me. Nevertheless, I was still doing quite well in the passing department. 6:21/mile.

Miles 9 and 10: We then made our way up Cricket Hill for the second and final time. I bet I ran it twice as slowly as the first time and my gait resembled a shuffle. The only thing I was concerned about was to not let anyone pass me on the uphill or downhill. Once that hurdle was out of the way, I put the pedal to the metal and hauled towards the finish. I was passed unexpectedly by two dudes who were flying. Darn. On the bright side, I passed a guy right near the finish line - and he let out an expletive under his breath! 6:09/mile.

I crossed the finish line and got my medal about two feet later!

Analysis:

Overall: 67/1,276

Age Group: 6/75

Official finishing time was 1:02:47 for a new PR by over a minute! My main goal was to PR and I did that. My former 10 mile PR was set at the height of my fitness six years ago, so hopefully this means that I am even fitter now. According to the race conversion tables, If I play my cards right in the next four weeks and if the weather is cool for Carmel, I could get that coveted marathon PR in April!

Post Race:

I picked up my gear and headed back to see Mo at the Ragnar tent. Eric met up with us and he and I headed over to the Lagunitas beer garden. 

Post race with free beer

As we enjoyed our drinks, we stood by the fence and about three people on the other side handed us their extra beer tickets as they left. So we had a couple of extra beers and gave a couple more tickets to Mo and Jakre who met up with us in the beer garden.

Conclusion:

Nice cool race conditions plus marathon fitness = PR. Also, lots of running friends and beer!

Next Up: Shamrock Shuffle in two weeks!