On Saturday, September 25, 2010, I ran in the Catoctin Aqueduct 10K. I was held on the towpath of the C&O canal at the Point-of-Rocks, Maryland MARC station. This was the first race I have run since my injury, so I was a bit nervous. Things have been going real well in the recovery. I’m keeping up with the stretching and strengthening, and have had very little pain. In fact the only time I’ve felt pain in my left knee was during an 11 mile run in Ohio a week before this race. I ran down the Olentangy bike trail and after about 10 miles, my knee started to hurt. I immediately stopped and walked back to the hotel. Now, I have yet to run another 10mile run (maybe this weekend), but the rest of the run and this race were mostly pain free.
So this being my first race back, I was a bit nervous. When I awoke at 5:30am that morning, my legs were stiff and sore. I had taken the day off before, but other than that I’m not sure why my legs ached. Registration was 6:30am-7:30am with the race starting promptly at 8am. Packet pickup was only pre-race. I arrived at the MARC station at about 7:00am, not knowing how crowded it would be. It wasn’t. The race was being held at the same time as they were setting up for the point-of-rock art fair. So there were many people around setting up tables and getting things ready. I walked over to the registration booth, but they were still setting up. So much for 6:30am registration. Once they were ready, I picked up my race number (35) and was told I could pick up my t-shirt after the race. Kinda unusual, but I was ok with that. After that I just kinda stood around. Talk to a few people that had run the Frederick Marathon, who also complained about the hot humid conditions. At 7:30am, I hit the port-a-potty, and then headed to the start line. People milled around near the start, which was directly under the I15 bridge on the towpath. I took a quick warm-up run and stretched a little. At about 7:45am, people starting looking around and talking. It seemed they forgot to tell us we need to write our names on our bib number, since he race was not chipped timed. After I filled mine out, I saw that Thea and the kids had arrived to see me off. Jake had an early soccer game, and they could not stay for the finish, but got to see the start. After saying hi, getting hugs, and taking pictures, my watch told me it was 8am.
The steeplechasers timed the race, so after a few words, waves to the family, I was off about 8:03am. Since I was still a bit apprehensive about my knee, I started out slowly.
Mile 1- I found a person to pace off and the first mile went quickly at a pace of 7:48m/m. The towpath is a great place to run. The ground is not concrete hard, and the scenery is beautiful.
Mile2 – After the first mile, my legs were feeling good, so I thought I’d pick it up a bit to a pace of 7:29m/m. It was a rather cool day, probably in the upper 60s low 70s but it was kind of humid. At this point it did not bother me.
Mile 3 – Holding steady at 7:30m/m. The one and only water stop was on this mile. We ran past a cool lock, and a lock keepers house. The water stop was manned by only about 3 people, which was ok, since the race was pretty small. I learned my lesson during the Frederick Marathon, so I took a cup of water. I stopped, took a gulp, and moved on. After about 2.6miles, the lead runner past going the other way.
Turn around – The run was an out and back, so at 3.18 miles we hit the Catoctin Aqueduct. We crossed the bridge, and turned around. The view from the bridge was pretty cool. Not many people had passed me going the other way, so I knew I was near the front of the pack
Mile 4 – Pretty uneventful, kept a 7:29m/m pace
Mile 5 – The towpath is pretty, but it gets boring also. Always running straight, not many people around during this mile, so I thought I’d pick it up a bit. My knee was feeling ok. I tried to hold a 7m/m, but could not and had to slow down. Pace – 7:23m/m
Mile 6 – I could see two runners up a head. I wanted to catch them. So I turned it up a bit. One guy and one girl. I held a 7:24m/m pace, but tried to go faster. As my wind caught up to me, I slowed. By the end of mile 6 they only had about 100 yard lead.
Last 0.33 miles – I pushed the pace to 6:59m/m and chased those people. I could see the I15 bridge getting closer and closer. By the end, the gal was about 10sec ahead of me, and the guy only a few. But I could not catch them. I crossed the finish line and turned off my Garmin at 47:21, with an average pace of 7:29m/m.
All-in-all not bad. My leg held out, and my time was ok. Pre-injury I was much faster, but felt like this was a good effort. I felt winded a bunch of times, but slowed down until I caught my breath.
After the race, I got a bottle of water, and went back and ran two more miles, slowly.
So this being my first race back, I was a bit nervous. When I awoke at 5:30am that morning, my legs were stiff and sore. I had taken the day off before, but other than that I’m not sure why my legs ached. Registration was 6:30am-7:30am with the race starting promptly at 8am. Packet pickup was only pre-race. I arrived at the MARC station at about 7:00am, not knowing how crowded it would be. It wasn’t. The race was being held at the same time as they were setting up for the point-of-rock art fair. So there were many people around setting up tables and getting things ready. I walked over to the registration booth, but they were still setting up. So much for 6:30am registration. Once they were ready, I picked up my race number (35) and was told I could pick up my t-shirt after the race. Kinda unusual, but I was ok with that. After that I just kinda stood around. Talk to a few people that had run the Frederick Marathon, who also complained about the hot humid conditions. At 7:30am, I hit the port-a-potty, and then headed to the start line. People milled around near the start, which was directly under the I15 bridge on the towpath. I took a quick warm-up run and stretched a little. At about 7:45am, people starting looking around and talking. It seemed they forgot to tell us we need to write our names on our bib number, since he race was not chipped timed. After I filled mine out, I saw that Thea and the kids had arrived to see me off. Jake had an early soccer game, and they could not stay for the finish, but got to see the start. After saying hi, getting hugs, and taking pictures, my watch told me it was 8am.
The steeplechasers timed the race, so after a few words, waves to the family, I was off about 8:03am. Since I was still a bit apprehensive about my knee, I started out slowly.Mile 1- I found a person to pace off and the first mile went quickly at a pace of 7:48m/m. The towpath is a great place to run. The ground is not concrete hard, and the scenery is beautiful.
Mile2 – After the first mile, my legs were feeling good, so I thought I’d pick it up a bit to a pace of 7:29m/m. It was a rather cool day, probably in the upper 60s low 70s but it was kind of humid. At this point it did not bother me.
Mile 3 – Holding steady at 7:30m/m. The one and only water stop was on this mile. We ran past a cool lock, and a lock keepers house. The water stop was manned by only about 3 people, which was ok, since the race was pretty small. I learned my lesson during the Frederick Marathon, so I took a cup of water. I stopped, took a gulp, and moved on. After about 2.6miles, the lead runner past going the other way.
Turn around – The run was an out and back, so at 3.18 miles we hit the Catoctin Aqueduct. We crossed the bridge, and turned around. The view from the bridge was pretty cool. Not many people had passed me going the other way, so I knew I was near the front of the pack
Mile 4 – Pretty uneventful, kept a 7:29m/m pace
Mile 5 – The towpath is pretty, but it gets boring also. Always running straight, not many people around during this mile, so I thought I’d pick it up a bit. My knee was feeling ok. I tried to hold a 7m/m, but could not and had to slow down. Pace – 7:23m/m
Mile 6 – I could see two runners up a head. I wanted to catch them. So I turned it up a bit. One guy and one girl. I held a 7:24m/m pace, but tried to go faster. As my wind caught up to me, I slowed. By the end of mile 6 they only had about 100 yard lead.
Last 0.33 miles – I pushed the pace to 6:59m/m and chased those people. I could see the I15 bridge getting closer and closer. By the end, the gal was about 10sec ahead of me, and the guy only a few. But I could not catch them. I crossed the finish line and turned off my Garmin at 47:21, with an average pace of 7:29m/m.
All-in-all not bad. My leg held out, and my time was ok. Pre-injury I was much faster, but felt like this was a good effort. I felt winded a bunch of times, but slowed down until I caught my breath.
After the race, I got a bottle of water, and went back and ran two more miles, slowly.
I finished the race in 9th place, and 3rd in my age group
Whats up next – Haggerston Duathalon
Whats up next – Haggerston Duathalon
