Official Results:
Time: 30:18
Pace: 9:46
Placing:
Overall: 39/171
Gender: 14/102
Division (F 18+): 10/82

Watch Results:
Time: 30:23
Pace: 9:32/mi
Distance: 3.18
Heart Rate: N/A

Goals:
A: 29:30
B: 29:59

Food:
What I ate the night before: gyros and fries
What I ate on race morning: Clif bar
What I carried with me: nothing

Gear:
What I wore: Doctor Who t-shirt, shorts, buff
Gadgets: GPS watch, fitness tracker

Discussion: This was an overall disappointing result for me, mostly because my expectations were too high. I assumed that I would just waltz out there and PR easily. I entered the race with a friend, so I didn’t do a big warm-up, which probably did not help.

The funny thing is, this is my best placing ever. I was on the first page of results! However, many of the people I “beat” were 2 year olds, or people carrying 2 year olds. The race assigned bibs to all participants, even little kids in strollers. It was sort of like the Simpsons episode Homer’s Enemy, where Homer is tricked into entering a children’s nuclear power plant design contest.

I was only 16 seconds off my time from this summer, so I am not overly concerned about giving <30 another shot. With a few weeks of work, I can get back some of that lost speed and energy. And mental determination. I probably could have run under 30 minutes if I’d had better head game.

The race itself was fun, it was inexpensive and a fundraiser for the Duluth Police Foundation, so I was happy to participate and I expect to run this race again. The course gets a little crowded and there were some pedestrians on the Lakewalk that added a few obstacles, but since the race was small and the average pace was slower, I got out of the crowding fairly quickly. The race starts behind Grandma’s Sports Garden, so the course doesn’t go as far down the Lakewalk as the Midnight Sun Midnight Run does, avoiding the Leif Erikson park hills. (10K runners do not avoid the hill, though.) I’d have thought on an easier course I’d run faster, but I guess not. It was windy but I didn’t feel the wind was a factor. I was just glad it wasn’t 30 degrees. The Sports Garden does open early, so there’s a nice, warm place with actual bathrooms at the start/finish of the race.

In conclusion, it turns out that when I don’t train specifically for a race or put much thought into pre-race nutrition and warm-ups, I don’t magically PR. What a surprising development.