Plymouth Fireman's Festival 10k

On to my 10k for 2017.  I tend to do one 10k each year as a change of pace, though I've never felt very comfortable at this distance.  The 5k is short enough to not require much thinking and the half marathon pace is something I feel confident about.  But the 10k is just an awkward one for me.  The last one I ran (Maui) went downhill for me in a hurry as I started out too fast.

This race was very, very small.  There were only nine of us in the 10k and twenty-five in the 5k.  That's small.  The course was pretty simple as we started in the center of town, made a semi-circle going north to west, west on Baseline Rd., south on a county road, and then back.  I was very surprised with the course.  It was a lot hillier than I expected from the Plymouth area.

We started out through town and the two top runners went out at a ridiculous pace.  I came out too fast as we made our way to Baseline Road and had to slow down.  The first mile was in 6:29 and the second in 6:48.  That's way too fast for me, though I started out in third place and was able to maintain.

After the first long straightaway, we headed south for another one.  The hills here were surprising.  Nothing awful, but they were enough to hurt after the fast start.  My third mile came up to 7:26.  That's better.  We turned around and headed right back the way we came.  The second place runner was well ahead of me and the fourth was well behind.  I do find these quiet pockets in races.  My pace was more consistent as we went, too.  The fourth mile came in at 7:12 and the fifth in 7:35.  We headed back towards town and I was really feeling this race.  Again, I looked around and there was no one near me.

Finally, we made our way back to town and went around the west side.  This included one nice downhill at which I gained a few seconds.  Another downhill into the finish gave me a new 10k PR of 44:06!  That takes off almost a minute and a half from my previous PR, set in 2013, and gives me my second new PR of the year.

Up next is a new half marathon for me.

Next race: Columbus Half Marathon- Delaware, OH