Easing back into Racing

Now that I’m back from vacation and starting back into some more serious running, I’m also starting to get back into some C-races. My “comeback” race was the 10k Stadtlauf (city run) in Bad Oldesloe, the town I was born at and that I still live close-by.

Last year, I was running another race just a short drive away at about the same time after my vacation as this year [insert link]. But then I didn’t have a good idea of where I stood, so I ran into severe problems in the second half after running the first part a bit too hard.

As the race in Bad Oldesloe was a three-loop course, I was hoping to avoid overpacing. But as there would be some family and friends there, it would also be difficult to properly hold back. (Last year’s race was run pretty much in anonymity as the people I knew there would be way in front of me and no friends cheering on.) I was trying to get everyone’s expectations down so there would be no confusion. In fact, I was saying that running under 50 minutes would be okay – each loop at around 16:30 (but was thinking that I should be able to run under 48 minutes – each loop at around 16 minutes). My cousin was also going to run in the race, and he would be running in the same general time range. So there might be someone to help push in the last loop …

The weather on the day was quite good for running. It was overcast and windy, but the rain that we had the days before had stopped. Not too hot, not too cold – pretty ideal for a 10k race. As the race was on Saturday afternoon, I was able to sleep in and avoid the usual race morning breakfast and hurrying to get ready in time. I took my time to warm up a bit, say hello to friends and family and lined up at the very back of the pack.

After the start, I slowly started to overtake a few people and tried to find a comfortable rhythm. It’s a bit tricky to judge the pace as there is a bit of up and down on the course, but I settled into a sub 5 minutes per k pace which didn’t feel too bad. I completed the first loop in about 15:30 and thought that I could hold that pace for the rest of the race. I was still overtaking people, and in the middle of the second loop I was reeling in my cousin (who went out too fast – a common mistake for him). I completed the second lop in another rough 15:30 and still feeling quite okay.

In the third loop I was working quite hard, but all I managed was to hold my pace for another 15:30ish loop and a 10k time of 46:36. I tried to get my speed up in the last k and was overtaking some more people, but didn’t have enough power to increase my pace. I had run a pretty even race and managed to be almost two minutes quicker than my cousin – and basically within just a little more than one loop.

I am quite happy with my race. I ran an okay time with a pretty even race and didn’t hit any particularly rough spots. For a first race, it was all you can ask for. Now I have a few weeks to train before my next race, a half marathon. Time to do some longer sessions …