ANNAPOLIS 10 Miler 2026
I ran in one of my fave annual races yesterday- A10 miler. I
love this race. I’ve done it since the
kids were babies and maybe before. I really
would love to go see how many times I’ve done this race. I’ve had my best 10
miler time ever here- under 70 which still amazes me…. To some very humbling
days through the years. I am ALWAYS more fit at the end of the summer BECAUSE
of this race, because I have committed, gone out in the heat, done the heat and
hill training. I will never regret doing
this race yearly.
Yesterday, as was last years running of A10, was a tune
up/one week out from Kauai marathon race.
Maybe not ideal timing, AND ALSO pretty decent one week out training if
turned into the mileage that I should do one week out. I both years have gone out for a 5-mile arm
up before the race. Last year, I the race FELT much better on my body, however,
since I was leaving so quickly for Kauai, I didn’t write it up, so now I am
left wondering the specifics. (EXACTLY
why I try to ALWAYS do a race write up). So, here goes this years:
I’ve been training 60 mile weeks for the last 4 weeks (until
last week when I dropped to 50). My runs have been solid and I have run hills,
hills, more hills and more hills. I’m very proud of my summer training and have
felt positive about where my run fitness and strength is. I think this led me to believe that A10 would “feel”
better yesterday. It really didn’t.
It was supposed to be like 96-97% humidity at the start (low
70s so not super hot, but yes humid). I knew this would affect paces and to be
cognizant and intentional. I started approximately where I like to start and
just kept it steady in first mile- I was already decently warmed from my prior
running, and I felt for the first 4 miles that I was at like 7/10 effort, which
was where I wanted to be. At mile 4, (of
course right after a bathroom), I began having a feeling of my stomach
beginning to be a little iffy/ possibly needing to go to the bathroom. As the
hills were starting here, I was like, ok, take it very easy and “smooth”- and
it was already drenched sweating with the humidity. So my goal was to just try to ease my stomach
by not pushing the intensity. I was mentally like, keep it light until you get
to the bathroom. Well, within 1 mile, my stomach was in DIRE NEED of a port o
pot. I kept thinking, there HAS to be one soon, although I do remember this one
on the out and back section and was thinking, wait, is there usually one before
then? Long story short…… it was probably at mile 6.5 that I ended up..
embarrassingly…. Stepping into this woody embankment/behind bushes/trees and…
yep. I did not make it to the port o pot.
THANKFULLY, this space was there where I was hidden, because
I stepped back onto the course and whoaaaaa
felt so much better. My stomach
was no longer a limiter. My legs were
tired, but I felt like now I could at least put forth some effort to stay strong
and steady. My legs were really fatigued and I think my big thought was
surprise that they were so toasted. In thinking over the past day, I realize
that: I haven’t done any races in the past few months, and my training for long
stuff has been a lot of “warm up 10 miles” then hill repeats. My hill repeats I’ve worked hard, but it hasn’t
been a steady 10 mile EFFORT at race pace nonstop. 2nd thought is: I have prioritized doing my long runs from
5-8am typically (up until 9am sometimes) in order to beat the hardest
heat/humidity. I have had 1-3x during
the week that I then have gone out IN THE hottest heat to get in heat training
(so that my long runs weren’t sabotaged).
I am proud that even though I felt like it was pretty
painful and hard, that I maintained PUSHING.
I did NOT give up. I just continued to do all that I could, both
mentally and physically. Even when I felt like it wasn’t producing what I
wanted, when I felt like my legs were really heavy, I just kept doing what I
could, rather than backing off. I am
happy with that.
Overall, looking back, my splits were actually steadier than
I thought. I got 4th place in my age group. I was 2 minutes slower
than last year (last year being maybe the only year I’ve ever had a super
smooth stomach/ no porto pot stops). I feel better looking at this all today.
Things I want to take away from this race:
1.
GREAT REMINDER for my marathon next week: FIRST
half of marathon: KEEP IT SLOW GIRL. You will never win a marathon in the first
half, but you can severely put yourself in the hole. I will be careful. Last year I did a good job feeling that I was
easy, moving steady, and not pushing too much.
The miles that I did push too much, I was chatting to a few people, and
I will probably limit that this year.
2.
ALWAYS DO THIS RACE: A10 is so well organized
(however I do think they need more port o pots). I am always more fit at the
end of the summer from training for this race. It is a keeper for me. I don’t
love the extreme humidity sometimes, but… it is a reminder- you do what you can
do. You cannot just sit back because it is humid. You cannot just do nothing
because it is cold. You cannot wait for perfect conditions of the world or your
body. GO and DO.
3.
What you do matters- it always reminds me at
races- showing up and seeing thousands of other people who also have done the
work, woke up, got out, committed, gone through life and MADE IT WORK. It will
never be perfect. I am absolutely sure that training was not perfect for any
single person there yesterday, but we all did what we could in the midst of
life.
My splits:
7:43
7:22
7:27
7:37
7:50
7:57
8:35 *yep…. Not all running
7:55
8:01
8:01
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