This week started out with a positive looking forecast for Sunday’s 10K race (part of Long Island Marathon weekend).
And then the forecast suddenly changed to rain. And now it’s listed as cloudy with showers.
I can do cloudy with showers, right?
See, the thing is, when you pay in advance and train specifically for a race, you are locked into the weather. For a race like this, a race I haven’t trained for or secured in my calendar, I closely monitor the forecasted conditions because I really don’t want to weather the elements (or pay $55 registration fee!) for a race that I really don’t have to run.
But I really want to run this 10K on Sunday and cloudy with showers I think I can handle. A few showers in the area won’t soak me and honestly, if it can be a misty, light rain, it will keep the course from being too hot and sunny which any runner can tell you is actually a good thing.
As you may remember, I ran the Long Island Half Marathon FOUR YEARS IN A ROW before choosing not to run the race last year for the first time since 2013.
RECAPS!
LI Half 2016 < – Current half PR!
Plus this post of interest too, the Long Island Half Marathon through the years.
This year has been all about running less so obviously, wanting to run a half marathon has not been on my immediate radar.
In the past, I NEVER considered the 10K portion of the Long Island Marathon Weekend of races. It was ALWAYS about the half marathon. Why would I run the 10K when I’m capable of running 13.1 miles?
Well that mindset has changed. Sure, I’m capable of running and racing 13.1 miles but that doesn’t mean I have to choose the half marathon race distance every single time that it’s an option. Isn’t it funny how a simple sentence like that took me a few years to adapt to my life? If the half was an option, of course I was running it.
So here we are – a 10K race on the course I have come to memorize over the years. Not only by running those streets four years in a row but by growing up in this area my entire life.
While I have not trained for this 10K race (and still need to register in person!), I think I stand a chance of giving a really good effort.
What I have in my favor:
- Experience on the race course
- Fresh legs
- Renewed running happiness
- Mental edge
It’s the mental edge that I’m really banking on right now. Combined with race course experience, the mentality of knowing you are only running 6.2 miles instead of your usual 13.1 in the same area has just got to be empowering!
Of course I realize that a 10K is no walk in the park. 10K races are challenging and fatiguing BUT mentally I’m in this giddy place of feeling like I’m finished before I even get started.
I think this will be a fun experience. Running that same half marathon four years in a row got repetitive and old. I think that running the 10K race version this time around will offer me a fresh perspective on a familiar feeling.
Pace Plan:
No real plan to speak of here! My goal is to hold consistent and steady for the first few miles, see how I feel, and then pick it up as best I can. While I do know my 10K pace range, I’m thinking my goal should be to hold comfortably in my half marathon pace range instead. I haven’t practiced 10K paces enough to assume that I can just go out and run so fast for 6.2 miles without wanting to die. I don’t want to run races that make me feel so uncomfortable that I want to die. That’s not a fun feeling for me and races should be fun.
Why I Really Want To Run Sunday’s 10K Race:
Usually cloudy with showers would turn me off enough to not register for a last-minute race, especially with the high-cost registration fee. HOWEVER. I think the main reason I’m really focusing on registering for Sunday’s 10K race is because it is probably the last race I will run in the 35-39 age bracket.
I KNOW. Best make it a good one. 🙂
[bctt tweet=”10K race on Sunday! #runli #10Krace #longisland #longislandmarathonweekend #run #running #runner” username=”cookiechrunicle”]
Anyone else running a race this weekend?
Which age bracket are you currently in?
The Cookie ChRUNicles 