Mike and I ran the Kurz Memorial 10 Mile race this morning along with a couple of friends. This race is handicapped, so the idea is that everyone should finish at the exact same time if everyone runs as would be expected from their previous times. If you have a relatively “better” day than someone else, you finish ahead of them. If you have a relatively “worse” day, then you finish behind them. I was the first in our group to start. I was given a 5 minute head start over one friend, 11 minutes ahead of another, and finally 18 minutes ahead of Mike.

No iPods are allowed in this race, and it is kind of lonely because you can’t line up and run a few miles with your friends. Other than that, I really enjoyed it. The weather was absolutely beautiful for running and the course was an out and back along the perfectly flat Luce Line Trail. It was mentally challenging knowing that the bulk of the pack was behind me and that the race was designed so that they would run me down all the way to the finish. I had expected to start getting passed around mile 6 or 7 and continue to be passed through the end.

I started at the same time as 5 others. One guy took off right away and when I saw him on the turn around I joked with him that he was a sand bagger. I don’t know why he started with us and he seemed to know that he was in the wrong group. Two of the others ran together and stayed in front of me by two or three minutes the whole way. I talked a little bit with the other woman in our group and we started the first bit together. I told her to go ahead after the first half mile or so and she was 30-60 seconds in front of me throughout the whole race. It was nice to have someone to follow and keep me working hard.

By mile 2, two other people had passed me and honestly I was a little ticked about it. Theoretically, I should not have been passed that early and I wondered why they submitted times that were obviously slow. Well, by mile 5 I passed one of them back and she was sucking air. By mile 8, the other guy was walking and I felt sorry for him. They had obviously started out too fast and this race points that out in a very poignant way.

I didn’t pass anyone else, but I also didn’t get passed that much, either. After I passed the walking guy at mile 8, no one one was ahead of me that started behind me. Oh, I could feel everyone breathing down my neck. I went from assuming everyone would pass me and being okay with that to really not wanting to be passed by hordes of people in the last mile. I’m guessing that 10 to 15 people at the most passed me. It was hard to tell because it was a beautiful day and lots of people not associated with the race were out on the course. Since they were coming up from behind me, I couldn’t always tell if they had a number on or not. With about a quarter mile to go, Mike passed me and gave me lots of encouragement. My two friends were closing in on me but ran out of time to catch me. Everyone had a great race and it was fun to be able to cheer for them at the finish since they are always so nice about cheering me on at every other race.

The course ended up being a little long at 10.1 miles. My time was 1:36:57 which wasn’t a PR but not too shabby. For the 10.1 distance, that’s 9:35 per mile and it’s 9:42 per mile for 10 miles. I was hoping to average 10 minute miles so I was very happy with my time. I actually had a negative split by 20 seconds, so I’m very pleased about that. I’m getting better at pacing myself at this 10 mile/half marathon distance. I had a negative split at my last two half marathons by about the same margin. I was faster than my TC 10 Mile time by 1:50, but that course is a lot harder so it’s not fair comparison. Still, better to be faster on the easier course than slower.

I don’t have any more races on my schedule until the Minneapolis Half Marathon on June 6th. What?! Two whole months of the season with no races?! Please excuse me… I need to find another race to sign up for, preferably one with a neato t-shirt.

I’ve been trying to be patient with my chest cold, waiting for it to break up enough that I felt safe to run. After four days of no exercise and diligently taking Mucinex, I headed out with a friend this morning. It was glorious! The day was glorious, not me. It was sunny and crisp. The path had been nicely plowed so that I had actual pavement under my feet sporadically. Even the snow and icy parts were crunchy enough that I didn’t have to worry about slipping without my shoe grips.

Even missing a couple days of running erodes my confidence. Can I still make it? Did I lose all my fitness? I ran 7.5 miles today and instantly my confidence and enthusiasm are back. It’s amazing what a little sunshine, a friend to be with, and a nice run can do for a mood. I was happy, happy, happy the rest of the day.

All of this enthusiasm made me think that I needed to find a new race to do in April. I did the Ron Daws 25K in April last year. It was a great race but very hilly and tough for me. I was marathon training then and needed the miles. I don’t want to ramp up to 15+ miles quite yet. I have The Minneapolis Half Marathon in June and nothing longer than that until The NYC Marathon in the fall. I found a 10 mile race that sounds like fun. It’s the Fred Kurz Memorial 10-Mile. It is interesting because you give your estimated finish time, then the slower runners start first. The idea is that everyone finishes at the same time. The race fee is only $8, so it’s also a bargain!

So now I have something on my schedule as motivation for my training. If you live here in MN, check this race out and think about joining me. It may be the only time that I get to line up at the start in front of all of my friends. I’ll get to see what it’s like at the front of the pack, for a few minutes anyway!