ted corbitt 15k.

i absolutely love this distance.    it is the perfect "long" distance race.

(in no particular order)
reasons why the 15k (9.3) miles is my favorite racing distance:

• it's long enough that i feel legit when i get home.  at this point in my running "career," there are certain distances that just don't do much for me. when i first started running, i remember being nervous about my first 6 mile run. now? i run 6 miles on weeknights after work during marathon training. there's a kind of feeling that comes with running a "long" distance (whatever that may be for you) and i've found that the 15k is where i get that feeling.  
• there's no mental "wall." in long distance races, there's typically a mile marker that sticks out as a mental "wall" for me.  in half-marathons, it's mile 8.  i dont know what it is about that 8th mile, but when i get to it, i always think to myself, "damn, i cannot believe i have to do this for 5 more miles." at that point in the race, 5 miles always feels way too long.  in a 15k? when i get to mile 8, i'm like "yay, 1.3 miles to go. gonna knock this sh*t out. byahh."
• at my pace, it's really only an hour and a half of running. when i put it that way, it doesn't seem so bad.. especially after months of training for a race that takes me more than four and a half hours to complete.
• "training" is easy.  it's unfortunate that 15ks aren't more common because i think they're an awesome way for new runners to get into long distance racing. running 9.3 miles just seems a lot less intimidating than 13.1 to a new runner. hell, it's a lot less intimidating to me.  hey, racing directors of ny, can we have more 15ks? please? 

i was really excited about this 15k this year.  i knew i could PR and i knew it was the perfect race to help push my mileage to over 1000 for 2011.  luckily, it was an absolutely beautiful day in new york city and i didn't have to bundle up too much.  

i warmed up quickly once i started running and i just felt fantastic the whole way.  i was keeping everything just below a 10min/mi pace and i kept glancing down at my watch to make sure i wasn't going too fast.  in shorter races, i'll push sooner.  i didn't want to run out of steam before the second loop.  looks like i did something right because the second loop (the last 5 miles) felt even better than the first 4 and i was able to push my pace.  at the 9 mile mark, i looked down and knew i could break 1:30.  what?! i was so excited!! i FLEW those last .3 miles because damnit if i was going to finish even with a 1:30:00.  

1:29:22 (9:37 min/mi).

nothing like a good 15k to get me ready for lots of holiday eating (and there was lots... and lots... of eating).

hope everyone had an amazing holiday and that you're out there this week workin' off some of the celebrating that you all deserved!