Rodes City Run - 10k

I'm not too modest to say that I've basically been kicking ass when it comes to my races and training runs lately (at least, kicking ass for me). Still, I went into this race with a goal in mind that I wasn't sure I could achieve. My four miler last week went really well, but as I get into longer distances I have a tendency to convince myself that I cannot run non-stop the entire distance, and these possible walk breaks were what I was concerned about when I set my goal this morning. As has been the case with the majority of the races this year, the weather was 100% awesome - a cool 35-40 degrees and sunny. Couldn't have asked for better. I made my way to the start line with only a few things in mind: I would run or walk based on how I felt, I would place more emphasis on the pace I was keeping rather than the time, and I was determined to run any hills. As I made my way through mile 1 I was feeling excellent, and made it up the first incline without a problem. First water stop about 1.5 miles in meant a quick 5 second walk break, but I was back at it in no time, and found myself running down the hill on Grinstead just after mile 2, picking up some speed. I wanted to try and keep a 10-minute pace, but found that that fluctuated just slightly depending on whether or not I was ascending or descending. When I found myself going a little slower than I would like, I would speed it up, and vice versa if I found myself going too fast. My main concern was a continuous run (somewhere between miles 2 and 3 I decided I wanted to try to run non-stop), and to make sure that I had something left for the finish and wouldn't bonk. The gloves and double-layer I wore started to get a little warm about 4 miles in, but I decided to keep it all on regardless, not wanting anything to slow down the groove I was now in. I had been trying to check the Garmin at each mile, and seeing that my 3 and 4 miles were both sub 10-minute paces, I didn't want to change anything that may create a slower 5 or 6 mile. Coming up to the 6 mile mark I saw that I was just at a 10-minute pace as I passed the mile marker right at one hour. I was feeling super-stoked at this point because my goal was to come in at under 1:03. With the finish line up ahead, I checked the Garmin again to see that I was at 1:00:31 and attempted as much of a sprint as I could muster at that point to attempt sub 1:01. When I hit the STOP button right at the finish, my unofficial time was 1:01:12 - a 4 minute PR! I was so excited! And even more excited to see that my average pace was 9:47. I only had a 10+ minute pace during mile 2, and even that was only 10:09. Coming from someone who has never (until this year anyway) run much better than an 11-12 minute pace, this is something I am super proud of. I think I've finally found what works for me. Going by feel rather than time, and keeping an eye on my pace. With the 10-miler in two weeks it will be interesting to see how this plan pans out, especially on those killer hills through Iroquois. BTW - my splits for this race were: 9:56, 10:09, 9:43, 9:43, 9:33, 9:48 and 9:13 for the last .2 miles. Sweet!