Scotland 10k Race Report

SCOTLAND 10K RACE SPLITS

Before going to bed Friday night, I checked the hourly forecast on WeatherChannel.com for the race day weather. I went to bed with hopes of decent weather (read: no rain). It didn't turn out that way when I woke up.

After getting appropriately dressed and packing for my gear, I headed to Central Park at about 8:40. Was supposed to meet some friends at Columbus Circle at about 8:45, but when I got there, I didn't see anyone. I headed to the baggage check just north of Tavern on the Green, and didn't like what I saw: mud all over the place. Thankfully, Scotland Run sponsors provided a poncho that I reused to wrap my backpack.

Having dropped off my bag, I took off for the starting line with about 3 minutes before the starting gun. Managed to get into the front corral, but waited for the fastest runners to pass before I started. After finding a break, I jumped in. The race had begun. Woohoo!

I had missed the euphoria of actually racing. Once I surrendered to the weather, I knew I was going to have a great time. Had my music, fresh cool air, some extra moisture in the air to keep me cool...life was good. 6:45/mile, here I come!

Mile 1 (6:24) - Heading into the race, I had my game plan. Mile 1 was going to be a little fast, as expected, with the adrenaline of starting. Took stock of the other runners around me and we all seemed to be pacing within a few seconds of each other.

Mile 2 (6:41) - I figured I could take mile 2 a little slower because of the rolling hills and uphills, and I did. I tried to keep my effort even, but not push too hard.

Mile 3 (6:28) - More than any other race, I raced the downhills. This mile had the big downhill heading down after a relatively sharp climb to the top of Harlem Hill. I had to make up some time because the next mile was going to be slow.

Mile 4 (6:58) - In retrospect, I may have taken this mile too slow. My goal was to do it at 6:50, just kind of rolling up the hill, conserving energy for the last two miles.

Mile 5 (6:38) - Time to pick up the pace again! So I did, but somewhere along this mile, I remember thinking that this race wasn't feeling as painful as I had expected.

Mile 6 (6:43) - My Garmin 405 told me my average pace was 6:40. All I had to do was stay steady the rest of the way, so I did. I was going to break the 6:45 goal pretty easily.

Finish - Did a mild sprint to the finish, again not over exerting. At the finish, I thought..man, I think I've worked harder in the speed classes. I was happy with my effort. 6:40 wasn't as bad as I thought!

Two hours laters, I got home from brunch and checked the results. Finished at 42:13 at a 6:48/mile pace. WTF!?!? It turns out my GPS screwed me over by adding just a little bit of extra distance. It made sense. I didn't feel like I worked as hard because I DID NOT. How disappointing.