Canton Classic 10k

On Sunday October 31st Heather and I made the drive down to Canton, Ma to run the Canton Classic. This was a last minute decision as Heather had planned on racing on Saturday and I was thinking I would just get in some miles over the weekend. Well the race that Heather planned on racing on Saturday never happened, and she still wanted to race. It doesn't take much to convince me to go to a race, so after some looking over the races on Sunday we decided to go check out the Canton Classic.

Upon arrival we had to park a good walk away from the registration area. It looked like this race had attracted a lot of runners and the good weather was certainly helping. After parking we packed up our running bags and made the walk up to the registration area. Even with all the people, registration was very quick. Heather registered for the 5k and I opted for the 10k. Soon we were back outside and ready to head out for a warm up. Heather and I did a 2 mile warm up on the side roads around the start/finish area and then got ready to race! Once over at the starting line there were quite a few fast looking guys, but the only one I recognized was Mike Griffin who has been running really well and I knew I would be in for a race if he was running the 10k. After a few more minutes of waiting we were off and running.

Mike Griffin went right to the front almost immediately, he was followed by myself and a few others. Soon Mike was really pulling away and I was soon alone in second place as we made our way through the mostly downhill first mile. Mike was looking fast and strong and still slowly pulling away from me on our way towards the first mile mark. At this point I was already thinking this race was over. Going through the first mile mark Mike had probably a 14-15 second lead on me. Much to my surprise I went through the mile in 5:01. This got me thinking Mike was either running the 5k or he was going out too fast. Not long after the mile mark Mike took the right hand turn at the 5k turn and I was alone in first place for the 10k. My first thoughts were relief that Mike was running the 5k and then it was thinking running by myself for the next 5 miles over this challenging course was going to be rough! I decided to give it a good go and see what I could do over this course. The next mile is still flat to down hill and I hit the 2nd mile in 10:01 (5:00 mile). At this point I knew for sure I would be alone for the rest of the race, and I knew that after all that downhill there were going to be some decent up hill sections coming up. Soon after the 2 mile mark I hit the first significant hill, still feeling good I pressed up the hill pretty strong and hit more downhill to flat all the way to the three mile mark 15:24 (5:23 mile). After the first three miles I had a good race going and thoughts of a fast time started entering my mind....but I knew there were more hills to come. Over the next mile I tried to really put in some effort and keep the pace fast through some rolling hills and flat sections. For the most part this mile was up hill but nothing to bad. I hit the 4 mile mark in 20:45 (5:21 mile). With 2.2 miles left I was on pace for a personal best.....but there were still more hills to tackle. The next mile was mostly flat for about a half mile, then the uphill began. The last part of this mile had three hills back to back to back with little to no rest between ups. I was pretty sure at this point that my fast time was going out the window. At the top of the very last hill I hit the 5 mile mark in 26:19 (5:34 mile). Not as bad as I had expected, the personal record was probably out of the question but I still had a quick time going. The last mile was flat to a very slight up hill and I tried to press the best I could to hold on to my good time. I never saw the 6 mile mark and before I knew it I was back close to the finish area and made one last drive for the finish. I was actually surprised to see the clock reading 32:30's as I made my way to the finish crossing the line in 32:37, only 4 seconds off my personal best!

I was extremely happy with this race. I was able to run a very good time, by myself, over a challenging course. The work I am putting in each week is starting to show at my races and it is keeping me motivated! Heather also won her race running the 5k in 18:06. Another great race for Heather who has been running very well! Mike Griffin ended up winning the 5k in 15:36.

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