5 Goals for the Parkway Classic 10 Miler

Goals for the Parkway Classic 10 Miler

To be honest, the Parkway Classic isn’t a goal race for me. My next big goal race is the Buffalo Half Marathon at the end of May, so this is more like a training run! But I’m looking forward to this race in order to see how I can tackle 10 miles. My last 10 mile race was the Perfect 10 Miler last fall, but the crowd slowed me down in the early miles and impacted my final result.

My 5 overall goals for the Parkway Classic are to:

Stay mentally focused and tough despite the weather (you’ll see what I mean below).

Follow Coach Laura’s racing strategy to a tee.

Enjoy the sights around me.

Have no mishaps with my gear.

End the race with a smile!

Logistics

I’ll be heading to the DMV on Saturday – picking up my race packet at the Pacers store in Alexandria and hanging out with family. The bus pickup location is very convenient from where I’ll be staying so I’m relieved that it should be an easy commute to get to this point-to-point race.

If you’re going to be running the Parkway Classic or spectating let me know! I’ll be posting all weekend on Instagram so feel free to message me there and we can hopefully meet!

Racing Strategy

I am hopeful that the positive momentum that I’ve had the past 2 races (Run for Clean Air 10K and Love Run Half Marathon) will continue for the Parkway Classic! I’m not gunning to PR in this race at all, so I’m excited to just see how well I can execute the plan from Coach Laura:

Mile 1: Hold back a bit (moderate effort) and gradually ease into pace. The race begins with a downhill, so use it to your advantage to conserve energy now. Don’t push the effort too hard here – save your quads for later.

Miles 2-7: Aim for a comfortably hard, steady effort. Take the uphills at a controlled effort and then accelerate on the downhills – this race has more downhill than uphill, so use that to help you hold a faster pace.

Miles 8-10: Treat these as you would the last 5K of a half marathon: increase your pace by 5-10 seconds as best as possible and focus on finishing strong.

My 10 mile PR is 1:34:17 from last year. We’ll just have to see what happens, but I’ve got no pressure! I want to have a strong race, period!

Fueling and Hydration

Nothing new will be happening with fueling. I’ll still use my Honeystinger Chews and carry my water using the Orange Mud Hydraquiver on my back. I usually take fuel about every 3 miles or so. I need to figure out my Saturday night dinner plans and make sure I don’t have any strange foods the night before the race!

Unfortunately, despite stalking the weather all week and hoping for a better outcome, it is definitely going to rain during the Parkway Classic, all day long. My last rainy race was the Broad Street Run in 2016 and it was quite the experience…so at least this isn’t my first rodeo! My main goal is to not let the rainy weather psyche me out and not to drop anything or do anything awkward due to the weather. I just may need to have my garbage bag on-hand to stay dry before the race starts! Wish me luck!

Are you racing this weekend?