Race Report: 2010 Lighthouse Run

More of a “race” report, really. I went into the race knowing I didn’t want to deplete myself, and that my knee really needed a very low-key training run. Also, the temperature was around 75 degrees at the start, and it was very humid due to storms the day before. (Evidence: our neighbor’s tree.) I woke up with race-day energy, but I decided to empty some of that out by cycling to the race start.

At the starting line, I found some friends from running club, and I wound up running with Dan, who planned to take things very slow and use walk breaks. Sounded great to me! It was very hot, and I had a handheld water bottle (also calculated to slow my pace) that I sipped throughout. We walked often, and we chatted the whole time, just enjoying the atmosphere and the company. As a result, I finished the ten miles with a personal worst race time of 1:44:59, but it was exactly what I wanted: my knee felt fine, and my energy levels were still high enough to handle the coming week’s brutal mileage, and the day’s heat didn’t leave me feeling sick. I biked home a little more tired in the legs than when I started, but I even had enough left in the tank to get me through a day at Legoland with the family. Beautiful!

And then I went out today and did a second ten miles at a more brisk pace, but I still felt really good. The IT band seems to be holding up well, thanks to all the rolling and the PT. Three more weeks until race day!