EAS Race for the Water 10 Miler - Happy Birthday Emma!

Today was a new race in Austin, the EAS Race for the Water 10 Miler. The race benefits the Gazelle Foundation. My plan was to run at my MGP, 7:40, and potentially go faster if I was feeling good. I parked south of RunTex and jogged up to the start area. I then did the warmup with the Gazelles. It was another humid morning, but a little cooler than yesterday with a breeze out of the SE. I lined up with Larry, Rachel, and Brian and took off with the gun. The start was nice and wide so no issues there. Once we were on Cesar Chavez, I settle into a conservative pace that was below my MGP, but causing me no stress at all. We went through the hills of Pecos and scenic where I slowed a little, but nothing major. I was trying to keep a consistent effort through there without blowing up my heart rate. Once we climbed up scenic, I knew it was downhill from there. I ran into Lucy at the top and she said she would run me in which was really nice. She got water for me at one stop near the Hula Hut and kept me going. Around that time I looked down and my pace was 7:33. I decided I wanted to finish sub 7:30 so I picked it up...and picked it up until I felt like I was flying. I was flying across Lake Austin Blvd. which during marathons past has been my graveyard. We crossed over onto Cesar Chavez and I kept it up. Mile 8 clicked off at 7:20 and mile 9 at 6:53. I dropped Larry and Lucy somewhere along there and was pushing for another sub 7:00 for mile 10. The last mile was the slight uphill on Cesar Chaves to San Antonio. I still felt great and was in a zone. I turned onto San Antonio and pushed for the finish. My last mile was 7:00 and I still had more in the tank. I ended up 1:14 slower than my 10 mile PR. That course was all down hill and I was pushing hard for that entire race. Today really showed my progress and where I am in my training for Dallas. I feel a lot better than I did right before Chicago and feel a lot more confident. It was a great day at the races. I ended up with 22.54 for the weekend which is perfect.

Today is also my daughter Emma's 11th birthday. She has grown so fast into a lovely little lady!

Race Splits - 7:12, 7:32, 7:44, 7:22, 7:37, 7:42, 7:34, 7:20, 6:53, 7:00
Stats - 10 miles/1:14:07/7:25 pace
AHR - 155
MHR - 171

Overall Mileage - 12.54