2022 South Lakes 10K
Prologue
A few days after finishing last year’s race, I tested positive for COVID-19. The illness led me to drop out of the 2021 London Marathon due to travel restrictions to the U.K.. It meant I lost my chance to participate in the inaugural Wanda Age Group World Championship, which was postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic. I was devastated. The disappointment was compounded at the 2021 Boston Marathon when I failed to re-qualify for this year’s race by running a 4:12:15 (9:38 pace) – 20 minutes slower than the time I needed.
In May, I started training for the 2022 Erie Marathon in hopes of qualifying for the 2023 Boston Marathon. I chose the Erie Marathon because it’s the last weekend to qualify, and it’s known for being flat.
Summer in the Washington, D.C. area is traditionally hot and humid, but this one has been relatively mild. Still, my training hasn’t been as consistent as I would hope, and going into this final “tune-up” race, I regretted not doing more threhold pace workouts.
Goals
Likely: Sub-52:00 (8:24 pace). Based on my time of 25:05 (8:03 pace) time at Anacostia Parkrun #150 during Week 12, Daniels’ Running Formula, Third Edition says this as an equivalent time.
Achievable: Sub-54:00 (8:40 pace). The Anacostia Parkrun course is completely flat, so this might be a more accurate prediction.
Stretch: Sub-51:00 (8:11 pace). To run a 2022 Boston Marathon qualifying time at the Erie Marathon, I need a sub-3:55;00 (8:59 pace). According to Daniels, running a 10K in this time would be equivalent.
Course
The course was slightly different this year than in years past. Instead of starting at the front of the school and finishing on the track, the race started and finished in the parking lot near the track. Still, it mainly consisted of loops around South Lakes Drive and Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston, Virginia, ending at South Lakes High School.
Strategy
With no idea what my current fitness was, I decide to keep my pace as close to 8:50 for as long as possible.
Playlist
I planned for the worst and put together 54 minutes of music, only 15 songs. I had the first and final five songs the same as I’d planned for the Erie Marathon.
Pre-Race
On race day morning, I got out of bed a little after 5:15 am. I drank coffee and ate some peanut butter toast. I also drank water to ward off dehydration, and packed a SaltStick Fastchew .
After I fed the dog, I let her outside for a bit while I got dressed and packed my things. Last year, I had my packet sent to me by mail. This year, that option wasn’t an option. Waze suggested it would take me about a half-hour to get to South Lakes High School in Reston, so I left the house at 6:15 am.
During the drive, I wondered what the crowd would be like. Last year, there were fewer participants than in pre-COVID times. Would there be more people this year?
I arrived at the race site a little after 6:45 am. I instantly realized there weren’t porta-potties outside. After gathering my wallet and other items I’d want for packet pick-up, I walked over to the school entrance. The door was locked. I wandered around a bit before realizing packet pick-up was down by the track. There weren’t many people, and I wondered if this was how races were before the running boom.
About 15 minutes before the race started, I did a 10:10 paced warm-up at 10:10 pace in the neighborhood by the school. I still wasn’t sure where the race was beginning because there wasn’t a start line at the usual location. I went back down to the track and soon realized we were starting at the finish line. After a few brief announcements, we were off!
Weather
It was an overcast morning that made for humid conditions. It was about 72 degrees at the start.
The Race
Miles 0 to 2 – South Lakes Drive/Sunrise Valley Drive
We turned right onto South Lakes Drive from the school and headed uphill. This seemed wrong – I recalled going left the last time I ran this race – and I wondered if the course would be different than I remembered.
I wasn’t checking my Garmin in the first mile, but it started to feel long. At the course’s one-mile marker, I glanced down and noticed the distance showed 1.22 miles but I managed not to see the pace.
I passed a golf course during the second mile of the race and thought this section should come later in the race. I realized I was confusing the course for the Reston 10 Miler with this one.
Splits (by course): 9:48, 6:55.
Miles 2 to 4 – Sunrise Valley Drive/South Lakes Drive
The long downhill on Sunrise Valley Drive came earlier than I expected. I didn’t dare go full speed early in the race, but I used the descent to pass several runners.
I passed a water station and briefly thought about taking water. I remembered something I read long ago about how long it takes the body to absorb it and that I shouldn’t need it.
When the course started to ascend again, I passed more runners! Passing on uphills is an atypical racing behavior for me. At this point, I also saw a runner succumb to the heat and the terrain and walk the uphill.
Driving to the race site, I remembered that I would see the Mile 4 marker after I took the right turn. I was still running by effort instead of pace. At the Mile 4 marker, I realized none of my splits would be accurate.
Splits (by course): 9:26, 6:29.
Miles 4 to 6.2
After Mile 4, I passed a very young woman who I assumed went to the high school. I tried to find the next woman ahead but couldn’t see her. I told myself to settle into a comfortable pace for the next mile and conserve some energy. After all this time, I finally dared to look at my pace – 8:03! Wow! I didn’t expect to see that at all.
Passing South Lakes High School , I grabbed a cup of water and poured it on my head. The cool water felt refreshing running down my neck and back.
In the last mile, another runner passed me, and it spurred me to push the pace hard. I flew past him and another runner ahead.
I took the final right into the school and was surprised to find another gear. The announcer said my name and how I looked like I had just started the race.
Splits (by course): 8:19, 7:56, 1:24 (6:40 pace).
Post-Race
After the race, I grabbed a Powerade and a Belvita snack cookie. Back at the car, I wiped down with an Epic Wipe and then returned for the awards ceremony. I figured I would place in my age group but didn’t know where.
Result
I was 43rd out of 208 finishers (top 21%), 9th female out of 98 (top 10%), and 1st in my age group of 8 (top 13%). The announcer said I was first by only 3 seconds! My prize was a $25 gift certificate to Potomac River Running Store.
The field was about as large as it was last year, and it made me wonder if races will be as large as they were pre-COVID-19 pandemic, when this race had 332 finishers.
Time=50:18
Pace=8:06/mile
Personal Records:
Grandmaster:
- 10K PR, Course PR, and Most Recent 10K: 51:58 (8:20 pace), 2021 South Lakes 10K
Master:
- 10K PR: 42:41 (6:51 pace), 2012 Clarendon Day 10K
Epilogue
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been lacking confidence for the 2022 Erie Marathon, but between the great running that I did in Maine the week before and this result, I felt better about running a good race in two weeks!
