~6.2 mi @ ~8.6 min/mi
"Nuthatch?!?" Seneca Creek State Park roads are named Chickadee, Kingfisher, Cardinal, etc. Did the ranger tell Barry to park on "Nuthatch" for a reason? Temps below freezing plus northerly 20 mph gusts push wind chills into the teens. We join Ken and huddle near the starting line for the MCRRC "Piece of Cake" 10k race.
"Did they just say 'Go'?" Dash from back-of-the-pack, weave between runners, push on the downhills, and try not to think that what goes down must, uh ...
"Soften!" Relax and remember the mantra. Check watch at mile markers and maintain pace. Finish happy and hook back to cheer incoming runners. "Start your kick! Only 100 yards to go! You're Usain Bolt - 10 seconds!" Well, maybe a bit more, but not too much!
Mile splits approximated by the GPS: 8:43 + 8:21 + 8:24 + 8:33 + 8:28 + 8:35 and 8:20 min/mi pace for the final fraction. Official result 52:52 for 98th place of 256 finishers, 71/145 males, 2/7 in the male 65-69 year group.
Past races here:
- 46:57 - 2009-03-21 - Piece of Cake 10k
- 50:43 - 2011-03-20 - Piece of Cake 10k
- 47:07 - 2012-03-25 - MCRRC Piece of Cake 10k
(trackfile) - ^z - 2018-04-16