Ft. Vancouver 10K Run 3/4/2012

Ft. Vancouver 10K Run

Vancouver, WA

March 4, 2012

Time:  54:16 (8:37 pace)

Energy Events always put on top notch events and I aim to enter every one that I can.  These are the same folks who host the Vancouver USA Marathon in June.  This event was held near Ft. Vancouver Historic Site and offers a beautiful course.  I chose to compete in the 10K race.  Other choices were a 15K and 6K.

This was also the end of my 20 week Out Season Ironman training plan.  This is a rigorous 20 week session that builds an athletes speed and functional threshold heart rate in the bike and the run.  I have seen amazing gains since October and I am in far better shape now than I was 2 years ago when I first did IMCDA. 

I have been feeling a bit under the weather lately; I think I was getting a cold or something.  I just didn’t feel right and as of Saturday afternoon I was planning to just walk the 6K.  But when I awoke on race morning, other than feeling a bit tired, I felt pretty good and looked forward to a fun event.

Got warmed up just a bit by running around the Fred Meyer parking lot.  Then lined up at the start.  A pretty good turnout of about 500 runners.  The 15K had already started 30 minutes prior.  The race started and off we went.  I tried to keep a comfortable pace, but also keep pushing it as much as I could.

First mile was about an 8:37 and the second was 8:16. 

I love this route as it takes us down to the Columbia River and along the water.  Then it crosses the Land Bridge into the Ft. Vancouver Historic Site.  I had to walk a bit up the bridge over Highway 14, but got back to running as soon as I reached the top.

I started checking my time.  For the first 5K my time was about 26:30, if I even split this then I would finish about 53 minutes and set a new PR.  I was getting tired, so it was hard to do the math in my head, so I decided to just leave it all out there on the course.  This race would summarize all the hard work I have done the past 20 weeks.  My pace quickened to less than 8 minutes/mile.  My heartrate went from 154 to 159!  It hasn’t been that high in a long time.  I was determined to finish with a good time.

About a half mile from the finish, my mouth was dry and my tongue was swollen and I honestly felt like I was going to vomit.  But I didn’t care.  If I hurled, then I would hurl like a true champion.  Luckily I kept the gurgles at bay and dug deep as I crossed the finish line.  54:16.  A respectable time but almost a minute from my PR.  It was super great to see Wendy at the finish.  She walked with me as I cooled down.  Whew!  What a race.