The Gulf Winds Track Club Ten Mile Challenge is an annual event. It also includes the option to complete 5 miles by turning around at the 2.5 mile mark. This was an enticing option considering the cold and wet morning runners faced on December 5th, 2009. However, I had already committed to completing the entire 10 mile course.
I started out the race with roughly 170 other runners. For a ten mile run I started out quite fast for my level of endurance which up until this point was untrained and untested. Especially for a course that consisted of constant rolling hills. Gentle hills, but still hills! After settling into a more reasonable pace by mile two I had warmed up and was glad I had dressed appropriately. Intially, I felt strong and used my Garmin watch to pace myself. I discovered I was still feeling good at the half-way point and increased my pace slightly. This didn't last long with the hills and the realization that I still had 5 miles to go - I settled back to my more manageable speed.
Around mile seven I could sense I was tiring. Most likely from not running enough distance in the previous months and weeks. Training is key, and I wasn't ready. However, I continued to push toward the finish. Mile eight was also tough and the final hill on mile nine utilized all my fuel. Placing 23rd/117, I was satisfied with my time of 1 hr 16 min 56 secs. With future training aimed at longer and slow distance running, I'm certain I can knock minutes off of next years Ten Mile Challenge.
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