Cape Henry 10 Miler

Race report to follow. Need to catch up on some household chores first 🙂

Today was the day for the Cape Henry 10 Miler – one of the races that make up the Cape Henry Duathlon & RunFest in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I’ve been signed up for this one for several months, and despite running the Richmond Marathon last weekend, I was actually quite looking forward to it. I’ve only managed a couple of short, easy runs this week, so felt quite recovered and fresh. The ITBS scare from earlier this week didn’t develop into anything major – maybe the daily rolling on a foam roller helped stretch out the thick fibrous band that runs from the hip to the outside of the knee?

The 10 Miler was due to start at 8:30am, so unlike for Richmond last week I was able to stay in bed until 6:00am and take my time getting my things together. It was only a 30 minute drive to Fort Story where the races were being held, but due to strict security on Fort Story Army Base, it took an extra 15 minutes to enter through the main gate where ID checks were in full force.
I still had plenty of time to use the bathroom, chat to a few friends and run for a short time as a warm up. The weather was chilly (in the 40’s) but dry and sunny – great conditions for a race! A quick change into my new Nike Zoom Marathoner shoes and I was ready to line up at the start area. The last couple of minutes before the horn goes off are always an interesting time for me – you get to hear everyone’s race plans, goal times, how good/bad they’re feeling and all kinds of bravado. One of the familiar faces at the start was Charlie, the Running Nowhere Fast blogger, who must be as crazy as me – 5 weeks ago he ran the Fleet Week Half Marathon, 3 weeks ago the Marine Corps Marathon and last weekend the Richmond Marathon. He mentioned earlier in the week that he planned on running 10 miles on Saturday or Sunday, so I had a sneaky feeling he’d show up and run another race! Charlie, by the way ran a 24 minute PR at Richmond and comfortably qualified for the Boston Marathon with a simply outstanding performance! Congrats!

Anyway, promptly at 8:30am we were off. My goal going into the race was about 1 hour 3 minutes for the 10 miles (or about 6:18 pace), but with Richmond still in my legs, anything could happen. The course map made the course look quite confusing, but the route was well marked with volunteers at every intersection to direct the runners. The first mile was the usual get into a good rhythm and try to establish a pace I could maintain for another 9 miles. 3 of the runners pulled away early and knowing each of them quite well, I knew they wouldn’t be coming to be during the race. That left a group of 4 of 5 of us vying for the 4th slot. As we passed the mile marker I pressed lap on my Garmin GPS and was happy with the 6:10 it displayed.

I missed mile 2 (too busy chatting to one of the other runners) but made a point of recording the time at mile 3 – 12:27 or an average 6:14 per mile. I still felt pretty good and at this point in the race the course made 4×90 degree turns to head back the same way we came. I don’t know what happened in mile 4 but I ran a way too quick 5:53, although I must admit it didn’t feel that fast. Mile 5 I slowed to a 6:08, but was more than happy with my halfway split of 30 minutes 38 seconds. It was also good to grab a drink at the water stop as it was getting fairly warm out on the course.

At this point I was still in contention for 4th place along with a 20 year old from Chesapeake, VA, but as we made a 180 degree turn on the way to mile 6, I noticed the guy in 6th was catching us and still looking strong. The early pace was starting to take it’s toll and I lost some momentum at the turn around point too – hence a slower 6:19 mile. Thankfully there were only 4 miles to go 🙂

The 7th mile (6:12) was another out and back along a side road with a 180 degree turn at the end. It gave me another chance to see the fast moving guy in 6th that I thought I recognized from the Marine Corps Marathon. He was probably about 10 or 12 seconds behind and I knew I’d have my work cut out staying ahead of him. All I could do was stay relaxed and focused and keep my cadence as fast and efficient as possible. Mile 8 saw a nice “hill” to climb (to be honest there aren’t any real hills in Virginia Beach) and now there were only 2 miles left to race. I’ll put my slowest mile of the race (6:20) down to the hill if you don’t mind?

As well as the duathlon and 10 Mile race, there was a 5k road race taking place as well. During the 9th mile I passed several 5k runners and it was nice to look ahead and plan who to catch. The course was a bit congested at this point, and I found myself swerving in and around the 5k people who probably didn’t expect the 10 Milers to be overtaking them in “their race”. With a repeat of the 3rd mile hill awaiting us in the 9th mile, I was happy with the 6:17 but vowed to give everything in the final mile. Could I stay with the kid in the 4th spot? Could I hold off the guy in 6th?

By now my legs were done. Marine Corps and Richmond had come back to haunt me and remind me I shouldn’t really be racing again so soon. I tried to put the pain and general numb feeling out of mind and focus on my cadence once again. 1–2–3–4–1–2–3–4 – repeating this mantra in my mind actually helped regain some rhythm, and before I knew what was happening the course marshalls were telling us to turn right for the finish line. At last I thought, but I’d spoken too soon. The guy in 6th came striding past and gained a 4 or 5 yard lead in no time at all. With the finish clock in sight, I dug deep, launched an all or nothing sprint for the line and somehow managed to pip him to the post. The margin was just a fraction of a second but enough to grab 5th position overall and 1st in my age group.

All in all, a great event and a result I’m very happy with considering the amount of racing I’ve done recently. Next up is the Turkey Trot 10k on Thanksgiving and another 10k back at Fort Story in early December. And Tim, if you’re reading this, I won’t be running the Charlotte Marathon on December 8th. At least I don’t think I’ll be running…. 🙂