Goals for the Perfect 10 Miler

By Janelle @ Run With No Regrets | training

Oct 20

Fall racing continues and it’s finally time for my 3rd race of the season – the Perfect 10 Miler!

The Perfect 10 Miler is the largest all women’s 10-mile race in the country, and I’m honored to have been able to be an ambassador this year.  It seems that the 10-mile distance has grown to be one of my favorites – this will be my 7th 10-mile race and my 4th 10 miler just in this year alone.  2016 has been a busy year of races and I’m so grateful!

Since I’m keeping extremely busy training for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 10, I’ll be using this race as a training run, but as always, I have some goals!  Keep reading to check them out!

I’m linking up with Susie, Debbie, Lora, and Rachel for the Running Coaches Corner  and  Angela and Ilka for Sunday Fitness and Food linkups!  Check out their sites to find new workouts to try and lots of great running tips!I'm sharing my goals for the Perfect 10 Miler taking place in Mercer County, NJ on October 23, 2016! Find more running adventures at runwithnoregrets.com!

Goals for the Perfect 10 Miler

Because I’ve been so busy marathon training, I haven’t been running many races in the fall…so the Perfect 10 Miler will be my last race until “the big one”, which is just a little over a month away.  After having 17-mile and 18-mile training runs the past couple of weekends, running 10 miles almost seems like a breeze, haha!  Still, I want to end the race with a smile and not a grimace.  I’m a bit of a head case…so I need to focus on my goals for this race so that I keep things in control!

Logistics

The race Expo takes place on Saturday, so I’ll have to head to New Jersey to pick up my race packet.  They will also have a lot of interactive activities and clinics taking place, but I probably won’t spend much time there since I have a few other errands to handle on Saturday.

The race is on Sunday at 8:00 am so we’ll have to drive a little bit early to get there and find parking.  I’m not familiar with the area so I may give myself extra time in case I get lost!

Racing Strategy

I’ve been training for the Philly Marathon with Coach Kristy this season and the plan has worked great so far.  When I ran the Rock ‘N Roll Half Marathon last month as a way to test my progress, I got a little bit too obsessed with the possibility of PR’ing and ended up sabotaging my own race, so I really don’t want to make that mistake again for the Perfect 10 Miler.  So here’s what I plan to do for this race:

  • Don’t start out too fast – this was a big problem at RNR Philly, even though I didn’t feel like I was going that fast…
  • Enjoy the scenery – I’m hoping for some gorgeous fall foliage!  Honestly, it’s the kind of distraction I enjoy during a race!
  • Finish strong – I would love it if I could feel really strong the last 3 miles, instead of the last 0.3 miles LOL!
You may also like:  Philly 10K Training Week 1 Recap

I don’t want to focus on my pace AT ALL.  Running “by feel” will hopefully show where my comfort zone is and will be good to know for the upcoming marathon!

Fueling and Hydration

While Monday through Wednesday were extremely warm days – I’m talking mid-80’s – proper fall weather will be back just in time for the Perfect 10 Miler on Sunday.  If you have followed my training regularly, you know that I HATE running in the heat and tend to not race well in such conditions, so this is a huge relief!  It’ll be a little bit chilly at the start at 8 am, but I warm up quickly!  No extra layers necessary!

For fuel, I’ll continue using Honey Stinger energy chews every 3 miles and will use my Orange Mud Hydraquiver to hydrate.  Sometimes I have issues with my hair getting caught by the velcro straps on my pack or the tip of my water bottle during a run, so I’ll be extra careful to avoid any mishaps!

perfect-10-weather

Looks like perfect running weather to me!

I’m really looking forward to having a race for once where I’m not worried about the outcome.  We will just have to see how it goes!

Are you racing this weekend?  Do you enjoy racing in fall weather or do you prefer the heat?  

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