This would be the 3rd race in 7 days. And, my 1st 10k since December.
My two previous 10k's had netted back to back PR's, and, finally had me averaging paces in the upper 8's.
I ran this race in 2013 and 2104, but, had not been back since. With it being a close, cheap, small race, I figured I'd give it another shot.
I talked Jan and Jeff into going for this one, so, I'd have some racing buddies.
My running had decreased significantly since Cowtown, but, I'd had a few fast training runs of late, so felt decent about posting a decent time. However, I tweaked my left hamstring badly on the Thursday before the race, which was a concern.
I arrived early and connected with my race buddies. I did quite a bit of stretching to the hamstring, but, it was still incredibly sore. I was wavering between pushing for a good time and scaling back so as to not make the hamstring worse.
When the race started, I got out to too quick of a start and the hamstring really hurt. I was hopeful it would loosen up quickly. I booked a 8:31 1st mile. Too fast, and, wouldn't last. I got progressively slower for the 1st 4 miles, but was still pacing at an overall pace of sub 9 minute miles. I'd passed Jeff and Jan (who was having a tough day), but, was having trouble holding a consistent pace, and, due to light crowd for 10k, wasn't able to find anyone to pace with. Mile 5 was slightly faster, but mile 6 was slow. I'd had enough and the hamstring was pretty tight. However, due to the small crowd, my 55:37 (8:57 / mile) was still good enough for 3rd in my AG. While I didn't feel great about it, it was my 3rd fastest 10k out of 20 races. I'll take it, I guess.
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