2009 Cheese & Sauerkraut 10 miler

After a poor night of sleep and too much sugar for dinner, I ran the Cheese & Sauerkraut 10 miler. Closest predictor of this race wins the cheese and worst the kraut. I wasn't sure what to guess for my time. I ran a 6:46 pace for the 10K at the Pie Run which is flat like this course, but this was 4 miles further so I figured I would be slower. Also, I have not been that fast lately so was thinking about 7 min pace. I was pretty sure I could run at least 7:30 pace. Since I couldn't decide I picked 1 hr 12 min 30 seconds which is right in between.

I lined up in the back since I didn't want to start out too fast. We weren't allowed to wear our watches so I kept my GPS in my shorts pocket so I could get my splits later. It is interesting not wearing a GPS since I don't really know for sure the pace. I started with Joe C. and Stephen B. They thought 7:20, but I thought maybe it was a little faster. After the turnaround on the first loop (less than 2 miles back to start of 1st loop), I picked up pace and went ahead and passed a few people including Terry H. who picked the same finishing time as me.

I was afraid to push too hard. Overall I felt pretty good, but didn't feel like I should push all the way yet since I am not 100% healed. I caught up to Steve S-F and passed him and then Nancy T. On the way to turn around go to see Pat H. and Ryan H. who were the first runners. I was in 9th behind Tom & Phil. It felt good to be behind them since I knew I was running pretty well if I wasn't far behind them. They were too far ahead and fast to catch. I finished 1:06:59 so beat my prediction and was not close. I am happy with the result though since pace was faster than the 10K on Thanksgiving. No PR though today although second half was very close to my pace last year. Missed PR by 2:09. Enjoyed the run and didn't feel like I really raced it that hard. Placed 9th of 47. After finishing I entered the race results in the spreadsheet for Linda as they came in.

Splits:
M1 - 7:10
M2 - 6:51
M3 - 6:53
M4 - 6:41
M5 - 6:28 - 34:08 first 5 miles, 6:50 avg pace
M6 - 6:37
M7 - 6:18
M8 - 6:31
M9 - 6:35
M10 - 6:37
.05 - 0:16 - 32:51 second 5 miles, 6:34 pace
Overall Pace: 6:40