Bucket List Check - Army 10 Miler

I'm not a distance runner at all, in fact, the longest distance I've ever run was the Four Courts Four Miler. But I've always wanted to know if I had it in me to complete a long distance run. As much as I wanted to do a half marathon, the next logical step in my mind would be to complete a full marathon, which brings me to think of Pheidippides and then I talk myself out if it.

So the compromise, a 10 miler.

The Race:
The Army 10 Miler. Date: 10/13/2019. Worked out perfectly because it gave me Columbus day to recover before I had to go back to work.

The Training:
I wish I could say I followed the Hal Higdon training plan to the tee. I did not. Instead I ran a little bit each week, tried to walk more and more each day, and show up to my training workouts three days a week. The longest sustained run/walk during my training was 5 miles.

Race Day:
In all, there was well over 35,000 runners in this race in 10 waves spaced out over an hour. I was in wave 10, basically all people with running or power walking paces greater than 13:30 per mile. The rules for the Army 10 miler stated you had to finish the race in less than 2 hours and 30 minutes (15:00 per mile) and you had to complete the race before 11:30 AM. The last wave started at  approximately 8:54 AM. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Best Race Memories:
1) Having the winner cross the finish line before I even started running (congrats!)
2) All the positive vibes from the soldiers giving me water and Gatorade at the watering stations
3) The old man (super)power walker who paced me for the first five miles
4) The 10K sign. Having never run a 10K in my life, it was another hidden accomplishment
5) The live band at the 8.5 mile marker playing "500 Miles" by the Proclaimers
6) The text messages from my wife encouraging me all the way
7) Noticing for the first time that DC is actually a beautiful city without the traffic
8) A sign with the subtle dig that Marines run for 26.2 miles, but congrats anyway
9) Last but not least, crossing the finish line with less than 3 minutes to spare before the 2 hour and 30 minute limit (yay me!)


The Precious!!

My dig deep moment came just after the 8 mile mark. As the other Wave 10ers (and maybe some Wave 9ers who cramped up and slowed down) were crossing the 14th street bridge we all started to move in slow motion. I felt my feet moving but I was getting nowhere fast. And not to mention my hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, and ankles were tightening up. But I just imagined my trainers back at Anytime Fitness encouraging me to keep going (just like in the workouts), and of course my wife's text messages. I gutted out the last two miles and finished! Also helped that I knew one of the trainers was in the race!

I wonder where I hit the wall?

Overall, it was a great race and the only thing I would change is letting a few more people know I was running in it. It turns out that at least 10 people that I knew were actually in the race, but didn't find out until the Instagram posts afterwards. Maybe next year I can do better and have more training buddies.



The route

Until then, back to the gym, back to the track, and back to the golf course!