Return to Market Square Days 10K

Sunday, June 11, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good morning,

Yesterday, I ran the Market Square Day 10K as planned. As I hoped, I ran into (and with), a lot of great friends from Seacoast running community. Such a great community of the nicest people and it has always been an honor to have shared the journey with many of them.

The morning was most definitely warm, as the powers to be, decided to flip the on switch for late spring/early summer. The sun shone brightly, and bared down on Congress street as we waited for the start of the race and then as we all navigated the narrow streets and nearly 1,400 runners, during the early part of the course. Initially, my good pal Doug and I hung together, keeping our pace in check, though a bit choppy because of the many runners to navigate. I did not check my Garmin often, so despite wanting to run the first mile around a 10-minute pace, it ended up being at 9:24. Whether that pace was due to trying to quickly get through the initial congestion or race adrenalin, I am not sure, probably both. Whatever the reason, we were off and running!

Mile two, seemed (to me), to be a fairly relaxed each mile and felt like I was settling in to a pace I wanted. Because I used my Garmin to mostly check distance, I did not really know my pace and guest that it was around 9-minutes, maybe 9:10. Reviewing my actual splits, mile 2 was my fastest mile at 8:26. Because I was going with feel as my guide for my pacing, I continued somewhat at that pace and sure enough, mile 3 was at 8:27 pace. Definitely, my goal was not to run miles 2 and 3, at sub 8:30, and I should not have! Katie asked us after the race, what was the most difficult part of the course and I said that it was between miles 2 and 3.5, because of the hills. So, me running at a pace that I have not been running regularly at, was not wise.

Mile four started reflecting my poor pacing as well the effects of the sun beating down as I pushed up those hills. My pace slowed to 8:33, which while not terrible, started a string of positive splits. Mile five was at 8:34, not terrible, but I was struggling. Thankfully, I ran with an old friend for some of that mile, which helped immensely. The final mile plus was a battle both physically and mentally, and I ended up taking a couple walk respites. I had no idea what my overall time was and honestly that was fine with me. I knew I would finish under 60 minutes, and what was really my only goal. I had lost Doug along the way, but he was running on minimal sleep, so it was going to be a battle for him.

When I approached the final 400 meters and the downhill approach to the finish line, I did not think about passing people, but instead just enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment. I was gassed as I came across the finish line and paid no attention to the clock, my immediate thought was to get water and go cheer on the runners coming down the final stretch. For me, there is nothing more enjoyable than cheering on runners as they run that final stretch. A 10K can be grueling and add on the heat and humidity, and grueling turns to misery quite easy. Having people encourage me those final strides made a difference and I like to play that role as well.

It was great to run Market Square, as I have mostly been a cheerleader in the past. Honestly though, I missed my favorite running partner, who is hard at it taking some college courses. While my overall race time exceeded my goal, I would have loved to have slowed it up and run with that special partner. Running has many great benefits for me these days, but the best one is really the enjoyment of doing it with those that I enjoy so much.

Have a great Sunday and a super week. Thanks for having coffee with me!

God Bless!

Mike