Lucky Laces 10k, Spring Fever 10k, Bunny Bolt 10k, and my last 20 miler before Boston

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Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathon Training has me incorporate three 10k tune-up races into my training program. There are three main reasons for the tune-up races:

1) make you experience the nervous preparation for racing which helps reduce your anxiety before your goal race.

2) toughen you mentally and physically by taking you to your limit.

3) provide feedback on your current fitness level.

Saint Patrick's Day has so many different races to choose from. I chose Lucky Laces 10k on March 14th because I love the course at City Park. The 10k does the same 5k loop twice, so it is a great course to do a negative split. Ihad two goals for this race; a finish time of sub 44 (My PR was 44:05) and a negative split. Whenthe gun went off, everyone started off crazy fast, as always. I told myself to just let them go. They will probably slow down and I will pass them or they were just too fast for me to keep up with, anyway. My goal was to run the first 3 miles at a 7 min/mile pace and run the last 3 miles at a sub 7 min/mile pace. I ran the 1st mile at 7:02, 2nd mile at 7:01, and the 3rd mile at 7:05. I got really discouraged and tried to pick it up during the last 3 miles. It worked because I ran the last 2 miles at a 6:53 and finished in 43:40. I was so happy! I finished 4th female overall and 2nd Age Group.

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My next tune-up race was Spring Fever 10k on March 22nd. It was the only 10k race that I could find on the day that I needed to race. It looked like a tough course due to the uphill, so I honestly had no idea what my goal was. I was just going to go by feel and try to stay as close to a 7min/mile pace as possible. I was really nervous about this race, for some reason. It was at North Area Athletic Complex and went around the Blunn Reservior in Golden. The first 2 miles were downhill and I ran 6:40 and 6:58. It looked as if I was the 3rd or 4th female overall so I got excited. Then, the uphill started and it hurt BAD. I passed one girl at the top of the hill. But, then I started a steep downhill and she passed me. Ugh! But, I forgot about it and just had fun running fast downhill. It was gorgeous! I finished in 45:02, 4th Female and 1st Age Group and got a cool plaque.

I decided to register for a 20 mile race to gauge my fitness on March 29th. I also wanted to test out my race day clothes and shoes to make sure they will work for a marathon distance. Rocky Mountain Road Runners puts on an awesome flat 20 miler with lots of water and gels along the way. My goal for this race was to negative split. I was going to run the first 10 miles at a comfortable pace and then pick it up on the last 10 miles. When I started the race, everything hurt and I felt like this race was going to go horribly. But, then I started to feel loosened up around the 5-mile point. I took every gel and water that was available and I really picked up the pace during the last 10 miles. I felt great and really sped up during those last miles. I completed a 20-mile PR 2:40:13 and got first place female, which included a Runners Roost Gift Card.

My last tune up race was Bunny Bolt 10k on April 4th. My only goal for this race was to beat my time from the Lucky Laces 10k. It was the exact same course. When the gun went off, everyone ran out very fast. It occurred to me that a lot of these folks were running the 5k and I needed to start off slower than them. But, I got caught up in the excitement and ran that first mile in 6:30, a little too fast. I backed it down to 6:52 and consistently stayed at that pace. Most of the runners stopped at the 5k and started running alone. I saw a guy turn the wrong way ahead of me and I went the other way. Then, I second guessed myself and turned around and followed him. Then, I turned back around again. That mistake added about .25 miles to my distance. But, there was still a big gap between me and the next person behind me. I kept doing 6:52 miles and finished in 42:22. That knocked off 1:18 from my finish time at Lucky Laces 10k. I finished 1st overall female and got some cool prizes.

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After completing these races, I have decided that my goal for Boston is 3:18 (7:33 pace)

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Let the taper crazies begin!!!

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