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Training for the Buffalo Half Marathon continues and this weekend I ran one of my favorite races – the Run for Clean Air!
Every year, I run the Run for Clean Air 5K with my coworkers and last year I got a PR! This year, I ran the 10K and spoiler alert, I got another PR! Keep reading to find out how!
I’m joining Courtney of Eat Pray Run DC for her Weekly Training Recap linkup and HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap! These are great ways to keep accountable and share your workouts with fellow runners!
Sharing my recap of the @cleanaircouncil Run for Clean Air 10k! #runchat #run215 Click To Tweet
2017 marked my 6th year participating in the Run for Clean Air sponsored by the Clean Air Council in Philadelphia. Normally I run the 5K, but after last year’s performance, I wanted to challenge myself with the 10K race. This race usually takes place around Earth Day but for the first time, the event was held in early April and on a Sunday instead of Saturday.
I’ll keep this recap “relatively” brief. As always, I was nervous leading up to the race. I don’t run 10K’s very often so it’s challenging for me to know how I will pace. Coach Laura gave me a loose plan if I wanted to race vs. run it for fun. Don’t start out too fast, treat the next few miles as a progression run, and finish strong.
The start time was 7:30 but there was a few minutes’ delay. There were pace leaders for 9, 9:30, 10, and 11-minute miles for the 10K, which started before the 5K run and 3K walk. They were all City Fit Girls! Bret ran the race too and since he’s a speedy guy, he started towards the front. My friend and original running buddy Mark was aiming for a 9:30 pace so I started with him in the hopes that I wouldn’t go too fast.
At the start
Over the past few years, the Clean Air Run has been taken over by Students Run Philly Style, a local group that mentors and encourages middle schoolers and high schoolers to run distance races. Since there were so many of them on the course, I was really worried about the crowds and whether I’d really be able to try for a PR.
Mark and I ran together for the first couple of miles. We ran and chatted about various things. It was the first time in several months that we had run together so it was really refreshing. I know that he was struggling and I felt okay, but I was definitely pushing the limit – when we crossed the first mile in a little over 9 minutes, I was shocked! Maybe about 2.5 miles in, I forged ahead to see how fast I could go…thankfully, Mark didn’t take it personally!
Splits: 9:07, 9:11, 8:46.
The weather was really chilly that morning – low 40’s. Thankfully, the sun came out during the run and made me feel a lot less miserable! The crowds thinned out in a way that I was always able to comfortably run without bobbing and weaving. They had 2 water stops on the course and I did grab a cup at the 2nd stop, but it was so cold that I barely drank it. Meanwhile, my quads were ON FIRE. And I almost felt the beginnings of a cramp in my right calf, but that wasn’t until later in the race. I know I wasn’t hydrated enough, but I knew I could push a little longer.
When I passed the 9:30 pacer (Katy) and made my way towards the 9:00 pacer (Becca), I was really excited. This 10K was starting to feel LONG, and I was eager to finish up! She was so excited to see me catch up to her and she really pushed me that last 1/2 mile, so thanks, Becca! I was really feeling beat and I just knew that my pace was slowing down. I didn’t finish as strong as I would’ve liked at the finish, but seeing Bret and his mom cheer me on really helped!
Splits: 8:34, 8:50, 8:34.
My finish time was 55:16, 55:19 on my Nike+ watch! This was an over 4 minute PR! I’m still in disbelief. I had a good feeling about PRing but I just didn’t know what would happen! I’m very pleased with the way I raced and my confidence continues to grow!
Thanks to everyone who cheered me on on Instagram and for all the organizers of the Run for Clean Air! As always, it was a fun race! You know I’ll be back next year!
Monday 4/3: Yoga class at lunch – we had a few new students since we started a new cycle of classes and they provided some great energy. I really enjoyed class.
Tuesday 4/4: 3 easy miles in my neighborhood after work. It felt effortless and fun – it was 70 degrees with 75% humidity, the first time in a long time that I ran in such warm weather!
Wednesday 4/5: I ended up having a rest day. Another late night at work, plus I only got a couple hours of sleep the night before.
Thursday 4/6: It was a very rainy day ALL day, so I took my 4-mile fartlek run indoors at the gym. It was really boring but I did my four 30-second fartleks and got it done. Wouldn’t you know that while I was running, the sun came out and there were blue skies?
Friday 4/7: I was supposed to do my strength training workout but got busy doing errands.
Saturday 4/8: I finally did my strength training in the morning: 2 sets of 60-minute plank (second set with one leg raised for 30 seconds), pushups (10, then 12), squat jumps (10, then 12), 10 reverse lunge and kicks, and 15 bridges. In the evening, once the weather warmed up, I did a slow 3 miles.
Sunday 4/9: The Run for Clean Air 10K! PS – that strength training on Saturday had my glutes SO sore!
I’m extremely happy with this past week of workouts. Like I mentioned in my monthly goals, I’m foam rolling after every single run, and I know that will make a difference. Getting a PR in the 10K is an amazing feeling and I’m still just so proud of myself. I think that all of my workouts were pretty balanced and I made it work, so I’m giving Week 2 an A!
Did you have a race this weekend?
