I was feeling better this morning, but didn't know if that would mean I run faster or not. The plan was to finish the 10K in 1 hr 20 or less. I lined up about mid-pack and moved way over to the side since I wasn't sure if I was in the right place for whatever pace I might run. I started off pretty slow but definitely better than the 11:30 miles I have been running on the trail. I was easily passing people up the hills and this pace felt okay and was low impact. For the first 2 miles, I passed a lot of people.
At the end of the first loop, it looked like I was going to finish in under an hour so that was good to see. I passed a few more and then caught up to a girl (Emily) and she seemed to be the right pace so I stayed with her. We had a good conversation about running and ran together until the last hill where there less room on the side of the road to run. I picked up a little to stay out of the way of any cars passing and since it was a hill, I felt like I could run faster.
Overall, this was very easy for me and my butt gave me fewer problems today which I think helped with the pace. From what I can tell, it is the SI joint that is becoming inflamed and keeping me from running faster. I did hold back for this run but not sure if I can run this pace on a normal run or if it was because of the race. Hopefully, it is a sign I am getting better, but I do not plan to push the pace for quite awhile. I'd be very happy if I could run 9 min miles pain free for awhile.
I placed 3rd in my age group with a time around 58 min, about a 9:27 pace. I didn't quite get my GPS started for a few seconds at the beginning. I picked out a pair of Mizzou running socks from the table of prizes. Hugh placed 1st in his age group in the 10K.
Glad you are feeling better. Your slow pace is about my fast pace :)
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