This weekend, I’m running the Scotland Run 10k in NYC, and I don’t know what to expect.
Kidding, mostly. I know what I can do if I really push myself, and I know what I’d like to do in ideal conditions, but my weekend is action packed and while I’m ready and excited for the run, it’s not my main priority; It’s just one part of Scotland Week (which is actually A Thing. Who knew?). This definitely isn’t my ‘A’ race of the season, so I’m keeping my goals/expectations reasonable for the sake of a good run/life balance.
Anyway, my goals:
A. Consistent pacing (BONUS: negative split) – I ran my first (ahem, only…) 10k last year, and I raced that much like I did the St. Pat’s 5k. I went out hard, panicked, pulled way back, crashed, and then finished at the pace I probably should have been racing all along. So my goal for this race is to keep things more even, or as even as possible, considering the Central Park hills.
B. Don’t be scared of the hills – I ran them three weeks ago and I can run them again. This time I’ll be going in the opposite direction (clockwise), which I hear might be harder, but I’m not letting myself think about that. Remember last time when I triple knotted my shoelaces and was ready to take on the world? Yeah, I’ll be rocking the triple knots again, with all the associated attitude.
C. Run happy – This mostly refers to not getting wrapped up in my own little world and staying out of my head. I want to be aware of what’s going on around me, so I can soak it all in. NYC is full of energy and a little bit magic, after all.
So those are the things I want to focus on this race. As for specific pacing, ideally I’d like to try for 7:30 miles. If that’s not happening, I’d settle for half marathon pace, sub 8s, or sub 8:06 (my pace for that last 10k). And if I can’t hit any of those? That’s fine too. My ego may not be the happiest with that, but the rest of me is fine with it. This weekend is definitely more about the people than the run itself, so I’m not going to miss out on things to rest, and I’m not going to kill myself on the course if I think it will knock me out for the rest of the weekend. This weekend I’m staying positive, setting goals, but also embracing the life outside the run. Balance, and all that.
Anyone else running the Scotland Run this weekend?
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