The Labor of Love (10k)

Iris found this race late last week, and asked if i wanted to do it...well its hard for me to turn down the opportunity for competition, and on the event website the winners won huge trophies last year, so I figured I would give it my best shot.  I had done some smashing workouts Andy gave me on Friday and Sunday, so I wasn't going in looking for a PR...in fact the opposite was the case I had some dead Legs!

Back to the race, so i warmed up 1.5 miles, stretched, did some strides, and then the race was on.  My plan was to go by feel of who was in the lead, and pull away in the back half of the race if possible.  After the first mile I had about a 10-15 second lead and i went through in 6:03! I was feeling good and controlled...although the legs were still heavy and not warmed up.  I thought i had it in the bag no effort for sure though from that point.  Shortly after the mile it just started to hurt more and more.  By mile 2 the guys were still the same distance behind me, but i was hurting bad, and really wished i had done the 5k!  The heat and humidity were really clamping down on me and every stride hurt more and more.  Mile 3 felt like they were really making some ground on me, a pack of 3 guys, but i kept pressing on and said between mile 4 and 5 i was going to give that stretch nearly everything i had to try to keep the separation because i knew if i had 20 seconds in the last mile i had it locked up.  Hit mile 4, and there was a guy well inside 10 seconds of me, and that didn't ease up the pain i was feeling at all!  I went through the aid station got water, and poured some on myself and set my eyes on the road ahead of me.  Trying to keep a good turnover and the form together.  Trying to keep all my momentum rolling forward.  Hit mile 5 and was absolutely blown to shreds, i didn't know if i was going to make it to the finish line.  I could still hear the footsteps behind me but man o man was I in the hurtbox!  It was miserable! 

I looked down at my Garmin and saw all i had was a half mile left.  I knew that i didn't have the fastest kick in the field, so i pseudo kicked at that point trying to break the spirits of the now single guy behind me.  It had felt like i was "kicking" the last 2 miles, but come on!!  I couldn't get rid of this guy.  At mile 6 you run through an underground tunnel for 50 yards then climb a short steep hill, and from the top of that hill you have just under .2 miles left all downhill.  I hit that point still in the lead and could no longer hear the footsteps of the guy behind me.  I finally cracked him and I knew i had it won, but i kept pressing all the way to the line for good measure.  Finished in 39:33, good for an 8 second margin of victory...the effort that i dug deep for in that race surely didn't feel like a 39:33.  Thats 2 weeks in a row now where I have just gutted myself for a sub par time in the heat and humidity...I cant seem to crack the code!  I need a miracle if im going to survive racing down here in Texas