MC200, Wilma Rudolph 10k

Electric Boogaloo Wins Again!


You can read about our exciting race on Robert's blog here. For the record here are the mile splits for my 3 legs.

Leg 1 (7:37 PM) - 3.55 miles in 19:23 (5:31 pace)
5:33
5:30
5:37
2:42 (5:15 pace)

Leg 2 (2:29 AM) - 7.53 miles in 43:26 (5:46 pace)
5:41
5:51
5:47
5:43
5:47
5:47
5:51
2:57 (5:32 pace)

Leg 3 (9:08 AM) - 8.52 miles in 49:39 (5:49 pace)
5:50
6:05
5:51
5:48
5:46
5:45
5:45
5:48
2:57 (5:37 pace)

Here is Woods handing off to me for my first leg.



A Victory at the Wilma Rudolph 10k

I claimed my first 10k road win last Saturday morning in Clarksville, TN. The race started at 7am with a temperature of 93 degrees and extremely high humidity (as you can see form the sweat in the following photos). My finishing time (36 and change) was not a PR, but I think it was my best performance to date in a 10k considering the conditions.

I didn't know what to expect in terms of competition. Only 120 people toed the starting line. As the gun went off about 6 people went out ahead of me. I tried to run my own race, but I wondered about those in front of me. They didn't look legit, but its not about looks. By the time I hit the first mile (5:25) it was a two man race. One runner (this guy)stayed right on my hip, speeding up and slowing down just as I did things to try and shake him. I was pretty convinced that he would stick with me for a while and then kick me in the last mile.

But, as I settled into my third mile I heard his breathing change (during our first long stretch in the sun that had no shade) and I tried to pick it up. The course was up and down so my mile splits don't reflect my effort, but as I felt him struggling I surged to make a gap. Once I got some space I never looked back. I could not hear him and after a half mile or so the course had a 90 degree turn and I was able to peek back. I had 150m at least.

I cruised for the last mile and finished with a 50 second gap on 2nd place. I can't find an online link for results at the moment. I'll add that once they are posted again (they were taken down for some reason).