Black Cat 10 Miler 2013

Saturday I was back in Salem, Massachusetts for a Black Cat 10 Miler repeat. This race was started in 2010 with the intention of being a Boston Marathon 20 mile training race, but then evolved to offer a 10 miler and relay option too.  Last year I ran it a couple of weeks after completing an awesome sub 2-hour half marathon. This year, I used it as one of my final long training runs for my next half marathon.

Getting to the race meant an early wake up and departure because it was about 70 minutes away and it started at 8AM. At the race site we quickly picked up our race bibs and shirts, hit the restrooms, and then stayed warm inside while listening to the DJ'd music.

We spent a little more time at the start line than I would have liked since it was only 30 degrees and the sun wasn't strong enough to provide much warmth. I was wearing a new pair of Nike thermal running pants, but I still got the shivers. I knew once we got going I would be fine though.

As usual I went out faster than I would have liked. Since the first mile or so was mostly flat, I didn't worry too much about my pace. I knew we would hit the most challenging hill on the course heading into Marblehead around mile 2.5, so I slowed down even though I wanted to keep up with Daisy. When I hit the turn around, I saw her heading to the port-a-potties, so I stopped to blow my nose. She was having issues with her running top, so I went on ahead of her.

Turn around at Devereux Beach

My first half splits:

Mile 1    833
Mile 2    839
Mile 3    901
Mile 4    837
Mile 5    851

After the turn around, my early morning departure started to catch up to me. I did not have my normal pre-run breakfast and my gas tank was running on low. My Simple Hydration Water Bottle with Cytomax helped boost my energy, but also left my stomach feeling queasy for most of my final miles. In the last mile there were a couple of short climbs that tested me mentally, but I was so ready to be done that I forced myself to push on. 

Official time 1:32:21

Second half splits:

Mile 6    913
Mile 7    909
Mile 8    908
Mile 9    935
Mile 10  858 

This was my third ten-miler and my slowest time, but I chalk that up to my fuel fail. I'm happy with my race pace (officially 914) and my ability to pull it together when I started feeling crappy. I guess you could say that I'm finally learning to listen to my body.

I like this race. It has a horrible start time for runners coming from out of town, but it's a great distance, semi-challenging, has great runner support before, during and after, and gives out a finisher's medal along with an awesome long sleeve shirt. 

Want to know more about my awesome silver sparkly headband? Check out my Sassy Bands review and giveaway coming soon!