Litchfield Park 10k

I have been hoping to run a 10k and improve upon the 36:50 I clocked at the 10k mark at last month's half-marathon.  Surely I could run closer to 36 minutes in a straight 10k?

So I entered the flat and fast (and conveniently located) Litchfield Park 10k last week.

The Litchfield Park 10k does not appear to be a major draw for elite athletes - the other runners in the registration line do not have that gaunt, intent look I observe at more hard-core events  and several participants were availing themselves of the southwestern-style omelets being cooked up for runners prior to the race.  The omelets and coffee are looking pretty good to me at this point too.   However I remind myself of my critical 10k mission, and at the starting line I note that the field does include a guy wearing an ironman cap, and Kathy Rakel, a professional triathlete.  

Of course when the starting gun goes off I just run behind Kathy for the first kilometer at a comfortable 3:40 pace for the first kilometer.  Then when her pace starts to slow (apparently she is in the midst of a 500 mile cycling block), I tuck in behind the guy with the Ironman cap as he takes the lead.  The guy with Ironman cap gradually slows to about a 4:00 per kilometer pace, and I just stay on his shoulder biding my time.  

I am just focused on race tactics at this point.  I have long since forgotten about running a 36 minute time.    I feel like am running fast enough – 4-minute pace has actually started to seem pretty darn swift.    I mean who really cares about the finish time?  All I am thinking is “just win, baby”  

Finally at the halfway mark (which we hit in exactly 20 minutes),  I put in a hard surge to drop my rival, and then I push myself through several kilometers of winding residential neighborhoods at 3:40 pace.  I finish the race looking over my shoulder to make sure no one is coming back on me.  I feel really tired as I struggle down the final stretch and see no reason to do anything beyond what is necessary to win (still seem to be top for that segment on Strava).  

The little competitive endeavor is great fun  and I am awarded with this lovely hardware for my first place overall finish

Oh yeah, my time was like 38:38.