Month: November 2013

Well, it seems I’ve accomplished my goal of finishing today’s Trenton (N.J.) 10K run in less than an hour.

My chip time, which marks the elapsed time from when the chip attached to the runner’s bib  crosses the starting line to when it crosses the finish line, was recorded at 59:46.399. My gun-elapsed time—from when the starting gun is fired until I crossed the finished line—is listed as 1:00:37.

I was surprised by that time because there were a couple of inclines—one of which was much tougher than I expected—that I hadn’t really prepared for, which really took me out of my comfort level and messed up my pace. As a result, I struggled for most of the final two miles of the run and I was never really able to get it going again.

Of course, there always seems to be something curious about the timing of these races and today was no different. As I crossed the finish line at home plate of Arm & Hammer (formerly Mercer County) Waterfront Park—home of the 2013 Eastern League champion Trenton Thunder, the AA affiliate of the New York Yankees, the 10K clock clearly showed 1:01:30-something, so I initially thought I failed to hit my goal. The official results (you can look me up at bib #5432), though, appear to have shaved a minute off of that so I’m not sure what happened there.

But the chip time should be accurate. If it correctly registered when I crossed the starting line and finish line, then that is the true time I ran a 10K distance between those two points, and that’s what I go by. Based on that, I finished in less than an hour so I’m not going to complain too much about it.

Below is my run-tracker with links to data from my Nike+ Running app. Although I had my Nike+ app running during the Trenton 10K, I did not include that data here because—in my exhausted state and trying to get out of the runners’ chute at the finish line as quickly as possible—I neglected to stop the app until approximately two minutes after I crossed the finish line. So it included time I was meandering about trying to find an open spot on the Waterfront Park outfield grass to relax and stretch.

Original Post from May 4, 2013:
This week, I signed up for the Trenton (N.J.) 10K, which is held in conjunction with the Trenton Half Marathon. The race takes place Saturday, November 9, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. It will be yet another in a series of runs I’ve done this year that take place near or in a ballpark, as the Trenton 10K finishes inside the Trenton Thunder’s (Class AA affiliate of the New York Yankees) Arm & Hammer (formerly Mercer County) Waterfront Park. So far in 2013, I’ve taken part in the Phillies Charities 5K, which included a post-race walk around the warning track of Citizens Bank Park, and the Barnabas Health/Lakewood BlueClaws 5K, which finished inside FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J.—home of the Class A affiliate of the Phillies.

I don’t really claim to be a “runner,” but I’m trying to get in better shape and I’ve been enjoying running more and more over the years. Last night, I attempted my first-ever 10K-distance run and it went very well. The Nike+ app on my iPhone clocked me at 1:05:50 for a 6.24-mile run. There is definite room for improvement, but the thing I was really happy with was that—for my first time attempting that distance—I felt great throughout the run. I established a nice, comfortable pace early on that left me feeling good enough to turn in a rather solid final 1.24 miles. My average pace was 10:33 per mile, but I was running at a pace of under 10:00 per mile for the final 7/10th of a mile. In fact, I was cruising along at 9:31 per mile at the 6-mile mark.

It’s going to be rough to get in 10K-distance runs on a regular basis as I train for the Trenton 10K, so I’ll likely be doing mostly 5K runs with a few longer outings sprinkled in. But I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get in two or three 10K runs in a month—likely more closer to November—prior to the race.