I didn't plan to run a race this weekend,
since there were none within an hour's drive....my arbitrary limit for early morning drives to a race while in Florida. Then,
I got an itch after a good speed workout Thursday evening. I checked MapQuest and found that the drive time to the Strawberry
Classic 10k was 1 hour 6 minutes. Close enough. I decided to scratch the itch. Besides, I wanted to run a 10k race as a calibration
of where I stand on my spring quest for a sub‑50 minute 10k.
The Strawberry Classic 10k, along
with a 5k, is run in conjunction with the Strawberry Festival held in Plant City, Florida. The race site is just outside of
Tampa in Temple Terrace. The course winds through the tree lined streets of a quiet community and around a golf course. It's
mostly flat, but with several gently rolling hills. Each mile was clearly marked and had a split caller. In addition, the
5k point was marked. I like it when a race director does that. A temperature in the upper 50's at race time, low humidity,
no wind, and cloudless skies, combined with the constant shade of the trees along the course, made for excellent race conditions.
I ran a 52:23 10k 3 weeks ago. However,
my 5k time race time last week of 24:48 (7:59 pace) equates to a 52 minute 10k. So, I set sub‑52 as my realistic goal,
which would be a second‑running‑life PR, a floor goal of 52:30 and an optimistic goal of sub‑51 if everything
clicked.
I ran 50:32 for an average pace of 8:08.
The small field of 323 meant for a clean
start from a mid‑pack position. It took me only 6 seconds to cross the start line. My one mile split was 8:16, my optimistic
goal pace. A little fast for my race plan, but I felt very comfortable even though the first mile included a couple of small
hills. My mile 2 split was 8:00 flat, which was my 5k race pace last week. Too fast and I knew it from the way I was beginning
to feel. In the third mile, I found a pace that felt "on the edge", but that I thought I might be able to hold through the
rest of the race. The rest of my splits were 8:08, 8:10, 8:09, and 8:08, plus 1:41 (7:53 pace) for the last .2137 mile. My
5k splits were 25:17 and 25:15.
I am VERY satisfied
with this race. I ran a second‑running‑life PR by 1:30. I felt in control throughout, was strong to the end, ran
almost perfectly even splits and finished with an empty tank......I could not have continued the pace any farther. And I learned
that I'm only 6 sec/mile from my spring goal of a sub‑50 minute 10k with lots of time left to get there. All very encouraging.
Post race refreshments consisted of the
obligatory bananas, oranges, bagels, Gatorade and water. In addition, there was sodas, hotdogs, cookies and delicious strawberries.
A couple of race sidebars:
