Charlotte 10 Miler

I was back on the McMullen Greenway racing the Charlotte 10 Miler this past Saturday. The temperature was in the low 50s which made for an excellent race morning.

I was happy to see that they changed the course this year. We had more run time in the parking lot both starting and finishing the race. Last year, we came right off the greenway, up the hill along a narrow pathway, and made a hard left to the finish 10 yards away. This year, we had a nice long run through the parking lot leading to the finish. I definitely came away being big fan. 

From the gun, I felt like I got off to quick start, but I then settled into the race. We ran further to the eastern side of the greenway this year. This took in more of the boardwalk sections. One might think that they are smooth. They are definitely not. Then, on the western side, we made the u-turn well before going back under 485. In fact, the new course took out all of the dirt section of last year's course. 

I did feel that I struggled a bit over the final couple of miles. My legs started to feel heavy. The guys that I was running near really started to put a gap on me. 

I saw finish line banner in the distance, and I tried to "will" my legs forward. I finished 18 overall and 1st in my age group. My 64:24 was about 30 seconds slower than last year. As I reflect upon it, I am not sure if it is a difference in my training, or just the fact, I am another year older. I certainly feel like the years are "dog" years now. 

The Cool Down Runner