10Ks are WAY easier than marathons - 2010 RiverRun recap

I ran my first marathon last October, and took most of the winter months off from distance running. You know, you have to take care of your body, and it takes a long time to recover physically from a marathon…okay, maybe I didn’t run because when it comes to cold weather, I’m the biggest baby on the face of the earth. There’s no chance I’m running outside like the crazy people I see out when it’s 5 degrees above zero (I mean come on, stop it). And while I did run indoors on the track on occasion, it wasn’t really doing it for me.

But now that it’s sufficiently warm again in Iowa, I’ve been getting back into the habit of running, and absolutely loving it. I’m pleased to know that the enjoyment I got out of training for the Des Moines Marathon wasn’t fleeting. I haven’t decided yet whether I’m going to run another marathon this season, but in the meantime, I ran my first 10 kilometer race this past weekend in Iowa City, at the RiverRun.

After some modest training, I felt pretty good about the impending race and was really looking forward to it. After 26.2 miles, 6.2 should be a piece of cake, I thought. And, I’m not going to lie, it really was!

I cruised through the first 5 miles or so of the race, and realized I had a lot of energy left. I feel one should run a race with the intention of leaving nothing in your tank after it’s over. I certainly don’t run training runs like that, but a race is a race, might as well really push it!

Which is kind of what I thought I was doing. But apparently not. With about a mile left, I realized there was no point in holding anything back. I sped my pace by about 1.5 times, and for the last half mile, I basically sprinted to the finish! While I have to admit, it was actually really fun to pass so many people at the end, but it shouldn’t have gone down quite like that. I should have pushed it harder throughout the race. I guess it would have helped to have some sense of the timed miles I was running, but I forgot to start my wristwatch timer. Oops!

So, lesson learned, I have no idea how to run a 10K! I’ll work on that before I run another shorter race. But having said all that, if you’re a long distance runner, I highly recommend running a 10K! It was so much fun. A real breeze compared to the marathon. Though not as great as the feeling after completing a marathon, you still feel a sense of accomplishment after having finished.

I only have one complaint. Okay, maybe two. First, I noticed several people running with their dogs on the course. Really? I know I’ll probably get killed for this by all the dog lovers, but this is a race for humans. If you want your dog to be involved in a race, allow me to refer you to numerous dog tracks in Illinois. The race course was kind of small and crowded to begin with (this is complaint two). But having two runners running abreast, each with a dog, made things even more congested.

And for the race organizers, it really does make race small time if you allow animals to join in. I mean, it starts with dogs, but where does it end? Are squirrels and other varmint going to be joining in next year? Why not a horse like the one Chad Ochocinco raced?

I’m not sure what’s next for me this season. Stick to shorter races? Or do some shorter races, leading up to another marathon? Runners, what are your plans this season?

Photo credit: Iowa City Press-Citizen / Dan Williamson