Race Post-Mortem: Cherry Blossom 10-Miler 2017

The DC Front Runners Mercury team after the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, with representatives from the DC Front Runners Diamond and DC Front Runners Sapphire teams.  Photo by JR.

Sunday, April 2, 2017
Washington, DC
Difficulty score: 1/9

The last (and only other) time I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler was in 2015, when the course had to be shortened to 9.39 miles; less than two hours before the start of the race, an accident had occurred on Independence Avenue, causing that portion of the course to be blocked off.  When I first started planning my Spring 2017 racing season, I initially was not going to run the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler; my original plan had the Rock and Roll DC Half-Marathon in addition to some February 5K races that I actually ended up not running.  After all, Cherry Blossom was only 15 days before the Boston Marathon, and I was not sure that racing a 10-miler so close to a marathon was a good idea.

But nonetheless, I entered the lottery.  I thought that if I actually got in, I could transfer my bib to somebody in my running club who did not get in (and yes, there is a legal bib transfer procedure for this race).  When I learned that I did get in, I decided to just go for it.  This race was a very good opportunity for a 10-miler personal best and some points toward the DC Front Runners Race Circuit.  The course was very flat, with the only real uphill segments occurring right before the Memorial Bridge and at the very end.  Given good weather, which has happened most years on race day since I have lived in DC, this race was very conducive for some fast times.  Plus, Hains Point and the Tidal Basin were pretty underneath the cherry blossoms, even if their peak bloom had already passed.

Map of the course (same as the 2015 course pre-shortening).

Training

As of race day, hay --> barn, essentially.  I had essentially repeated by training plan for the Richmond Marathon this past November, with a basic weekly structure of six days of running, with:

• Monday: five to seven miles easy (sometimes slower than 9:00/mile) to recover from the previous day's long run.
• Tuesday: tempo run days.  These would typically consist of six to eight miles with four to six miles at 10-miler to half-marathon pace.  I ended up covering the tempo portion between 6:15/mile and 6:30/mile most of the time.
• Wednesday: four to five miles easy to recover from the previous day's tempo run.
• Thursday: longer mid-week run between eight and eleven miles, some of them with progressions to target marathon pace (7:00 to 7:05/mile) or faster.
• Friday: OFF
• Saturday: seven to nine miles easy (7:42 to 8:24/mile pace).
• Sunday: long runs of up to 19 miles.  Typically these miles were covered at the same pace as Saturday's runs, but some of them involved progression to target marathon pace.

Other than a few weeks where I had to skip a few training runs due to minor ankle and calf issues or travel, I was able to run six days a week consistently.  I was able to get several 50+ mile weeks under my belt, with a maximum of 58.5 miles several weeks before.  One notable change during this training cycle was the complete lack of any runs longer than 20 miles; my longest runs this time included two 19-mile runs (including one the week before Cherry Blossom), two 18-mile runs, and several 16-mile runs.  But I'm not terribly concerned given that my weekly mileage was probably adequate for my purposes.

Race Day

The race expo was noteworthy in that I got to meet Kathrine Switzer in person.  She was running the race, and will also be running Boston with Bib 261 (her bib number in 1967 when she ran it for the first time).  I talked to her briefly about Boston before getting her autograph and a picture with her.  It was great to meet her and definitely worth the lengthy wait in line.

Me with Kathrine Switzer at the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler expo.

Weather was perfect on race morning; 43 degrees and clear with low humidity.

But what was not perfect was bag check.  I took an Uber with Mick and Justin down to the start area near the Washington Monument (in previous years, Metro would open early on race day to accommodate participants, but this year, due to their SafeTrack program, Metro was opening at its regular Sunday morning time of 7:00 am, much too late to make it to the start on time).  We got to the Washington Monument at around 7:05 am, 25 minutes before the start of the race.  Already, the bag check lines were longer than the lines to meet Kathrine Switzer at the expo and for the porto-potties combined, and they were progressing at a glacial pace; apparently, they were trying out this new system that involved getting a ticket to check my bag that was more complicated than it needed to be.  I was actually surprised to see this from the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler; I did not remember any problems with bag check the last time I did this race.

But even at 7:28 am, we were still in line.  Mick and Justin agreed to check my jacket along with their belongings, which would allow me to start with the Yellow (first) Corral.  After thanking them profusely, I ran over to the start line.  In my complete frenzy of trying to find an opening to enter, I accidentally entered the Red (second) Corral.  As runners in the Yellow Corral were starting, I suddenly realized my mistake.  I squeezed my way through the runners in the Yellow Corral approaching the start line, past the 7:00/mile pace group, and took off along the sides of the course once I crossed.

Miles 1 and 2 (6:29, 6:23): So according to the clock, I had started 45 seconds after the gun went off.  I spent the entire first mile weaving around people.  I had repeated the phrases "Coming between you", "On your left", and "Sorry" so many times during this mile that I lost count.  Evidently other people were also doing the same thing; I assumed they also started late because of bag check.  Because the first mile was downhill or mostly flat, and partially because of the adrenaline, I still managed to cover this mile in 6:29, right about where I wanted to be at this point in the race.  I was also pleased that even with all that weaving, I still managed to cover almost exactly one mile; my Garmin indicated that I had finished one mile right at the mile marker.

By the time I had crossed the Memorial Bridge, I had finally found people that were going at a pace that seemed appropriate for me.  I noticed I was breathing a little heavy and I was a little tense; now that I did not have to weave around people, I tried to calm down, settle into a good pace, and enjoy the energy of this race.  At this point, the only way that my late start could affect me now was if I let it continue to frazzle me.  I covered the second mile in 6:23; I was very close to my Army 10-Miler pace.

Miles 3 through 8 (6:22, 6:09, 6:14, 6:17, 6:12, 6:17): The relatively straight and slightly downhill third mile along Rock Creek Parkway to the Kennedy Center was a good opportunity for me to get closer to 6:20/mile pace, so I decided to push just a little.  I sped up slightly for the third mile, but I may have overshot during the fourth mile; the fourth mile (mostly Ohio Drive toward the Tidal Basin) was even faster, and I covered this mile in 6:09, about ten seconds faster than I wanted.

As soon as I rounded the hairpin turn on Ohio Drive, I now tried to keep my pace under control.  My plan was to hold this current effort level until the Mile 8 mark and then take off from there.  As I was running down Independence Avenue back toward the Tidal Basin, I caught somebody running behind me wearing a blue DC Front Runners T-shirt out of the corner of my eye.  I could tell from the running style that it was Jeff; we were both training for Boston and I had done several training runs with him during this cycle.  For the next few miles, he pulled head slightly at some points, whereas at other times, I ran in front of him.  I planned on keeping with him for now, but not if I felt like I had to significantly push the pace.  I would keep my effort level the same as it was now, but if he started speeding up, I would let him go and stick to my plan; if he beat me, then I would be happy for him.

But having Jeff behind me for these few miles really helped; there really is nothing like having a teammate right behind you to help you get into that uncomfortable zone and stay there.  I probably would have run these next miles quite a bit slower if he weren't there.  Also helping me suck it up and push the pace a little during these miles were the drummers and the DC Front Runners cheer squad; Mile 6 right before runners enter Hains Point is always full of energy, and this year was no exception.

Hains Point is typically a little more desolate, but at least it is flat and straight.  At this point, I focused on targeting a runner or a group of runners in front of me, catching up to them, passing them if I had the energy, and then repeating with the next group.

Mile 9 to the end (6:16, 6:08, 0:16 for the last 0.07 miles): After crossing the Mile 8 marker, I realized that all I needed to do for a PR was to stay under 6:20/mile pace for the last two miles.  Not wanting a sudden implosion, I held back a little, even in spite of my original plan to speed up during these last two miles and in spite of Mile 9 (still along Hains Point) also being flat and fast.  Plus, there was that last hill leading toward the Washington Monument waiting for me at the end, and I wanted to save a little energy for that.  And I had covered some of the middle miles noticeably faster than I had originally intended.

It wasn't until I turned back onto Ohio Drive for the last half mile that I started to speed up a little.  Once again waving to the DC Front Runners cheer squads, I pulled myself up that last hill, which actually was not so bad, and then gave whatever I had left on the last downhill toward the finish.

I had my splits texted to me, so after waiting for other members of DC Front Runners and New York Front Runners to finish, I retrieved my jacket and phone from bag check and got my time: 1:03:08 (6:19/mile), which was a 34-second PR over the Army 10-Miler last fall.  According to the unofficial results, I was 226th overall out of 17397, 218th male out of 6989, and 33rd out of 1113 in the 35-39 age group (first race in the new age group!)  The infographic that comes with the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler results also indicated that in the first six miles, I passed 787 people and eight people passed me (it felt like so many more than 787); meanwhile, in the last four miles, I passed 65 runners whereas three passed me.  A 1:03:08 for a 10-miler would get me 71.45 points toward the DC Front Runners Race Circuit (an age graded score of 70.14 times 1.02 for a 10-miler in accordance with DC Front Runners Race Circuit Rules).

I was happy to learn that many DC Front Runners members had strong times today, including Jeff, who also bested his own PR by 51 seconds for a time of 1:03:59.  Other members for my five-person team for this race, DC Front Runners Mercury, also had some strong showings (the 10-Miler allows people to run on four- or five-person teams, where teams are ranked within each division according to the three fastest times); team results would be posted later this week, but hopefully, we had beaten the New York Front Runners Open Men's team.

Next Steps

My next steps are to recover as quickly as possible for Boston.  This time, I probably will not be able to do much target marathon-pace running during the taper period, unlike in taper periods preceding other marathons.

A 1:03:08 for a 10-miler would indicate that I am capable of a 3:01:49 (1:03:08 times 2.88 given my maximum weekly mileage of 58.5 and my string of 50+ mile weeks during this training cycle).  However, that might be a bit aggressive given how fast this course was.  Meanwhile, my 1:26:02 from my half-marathon a few weeks ago on a more difficult course would indicate a 3:04:58 (1:26:02 times 2.15 given my training).  So based on this, I could probably conclude that:

• I may be able to get a PR (3:03:47 or better) if I run smart in Boston.
• 3:04:59 or better is definitely feasible.  That would be great since it would give me a BQ-5:00 or better, allowing me to register for Boston 2018 during the first week of registration.  Even though my time in Richmond would probably be good enough to allow me to run Boston 2018, it would be very nice to be able to get my acceptance notice early.

Again, all of this is contingent on the weather.  If it is more than 60 degrees on race day, then I plan to slow things down and just enjoy my first Boston.

Other Thoughts and Observations

• Yey, I can run tangents again.  According to my Garmin, I covered 10.07 miles total during this race, even in spite of having to weave around people in the beginning.
• I think the best approach for this course is a slight negative split.  Even in spite of the hill at the end, the second half is faster and easier than the first; the first has the Memorial Bridge and a few hairpin turns that could slow you down slightly.
• Lesson learned: starting late does not necessarily spell doom for your race.  Stay calm; it will ruin your race if you continue to freak out about it.  But then again, maybe the leftover adrenaline from all that panicking enabled me to run the middle miles a little faster?
• Once again, I owe a big thank you to Mick and Justin for letting me check my jacket along with their belongings.