2009 Groundhog Run: Race report

Race: Children's TLC Groundhog Run 10K
When: Sunday January 25th, 2009
Where: Kansas City, MO, USA
Venue: Hunt Midwest: SubTropolis

Introduction:
In my admittedly short running career, this was by far the neatest venue I've had the opportunity to run in. The "caves", as they are generally refered to, provide somewhat of an oasis for a runner from Nebraska in January. The temperature inside stays around 65 degrees Fahrenheit year round, there is no wind and obviously no snow or ice. Add to that I felt great and ran great; a new PR great...

The Race:
The 10K course consists of 2 laps around a 5K loop in the caves. (The full course with mile markers in the image on the right). The nature of winding through the caves created a scenario with lots of turns; including two 180 degree out-and-back turn-arounds. The running surface was very well maintained asphalt. There were a couple of areas where the surface was uneven (railroad tracks and drainage passages), but nothing of issue. The course was pretty flat, with some general up and down pitch to across the entire circuit, but definately no hills.

The race organization and volenteers were both top-notch. The general areas in the cave that are utilized as a staging area are not the easiest to navigate. Orienting yourself would have been pretty difficult except that there were signs everywhere. It was very clear where I needed to go and how to get there. The course had three water stations, which was plenty for me for a 10k. Crowd support was nice, actually more than I expected in a "cave". Alot of people just found a random spot along the course and cheered.

My run:
My goal going in was two-fold: run sub 43 minutes, and negitive split the 5k's. I achieved both goals, however my splits leading to those successes were rather erratic. Perhaps erratic is not the best description, there was a noticiable pattern to each 5k, but inside each 3 mile set was far from flat splits.

The Start. I was towards the front around the 6-7 minute mile signs. The start was a little congested, but not as bad as I remember the Omaha Corporate Cup being. I felt pretty smooth the first mile. However I was very supprised to see the time at 6:00 as I made the turn towards the first mile marker.
Mile 1: 6:18. The second mile I tried slowing myself down, I was not having any part of trying to carry the 6:18 pace any further and a slight incline across that mile helped.
Mile 2: 7:36. The third mile is made up of a long out and back. It was motivating to see all of the people who were running faster than I was. Plus I was anxious to get to the half-way point.
Mile 3: 6:53. 5K split: 21:30. Once I reached the half-way point, I aparently kicked it up a gear. Unintentionally, logging my fasted mile.
Mile 4: 6:01. The incline from mile 2 returned and slowed me down. My goal now was to get to that mile 5 marker and kick it up for the last 1.2 miles.
Mile 5: 7:14. My heartrate at the mile 6 marker topped 200bpm. I was really pushing the limits of what my body should have had left.
Mile 6: 6:38. The end was near, in spite of my HR monitor was telling me I was about out of gas, I felt pretty good.
Last .2 miles: 1:20 (6:40 pace). The Finish: As I turned the last corner, the race clock came into view: 41:47. Wow, I can break 42:00. Holy cow, I can break 42:00! I sprinted. In the last 50 yards I bet I passed 5 or 6 people. I wanted that time. 41:57! Got it!
Post race: It took a few minutes to catch my breath. No major pains or soreness. I walked around for a short while, did some minor stretching and left. I was trying to get back to the hotel so I could get cleaned up before checkout and the 3 hour drive home.

Final thoughts:
I exceeded my goals. Loved the event. And I plan on going back next year. Hopefully with a large group of friends and family to run it with me.