TC 10 Mile Race Report

Start time: 7am for Corral A and the elite men.  My corral started around 7:25am.
Weather: 40s, wind around 5mph.  It actually felt a bit warmer than yesterday

Wardrobe:
Pre-race: I had on throw away pants, throw away top, and throw away gloves (old pair of socks)
Race: Nike shorts, Illuminite top, fleece head band, compression socks, Skora shoes
Post-race: Wool shirt, sweat shirt, and my new Loony Challenge Vest, Hat, Sweat pants, compression socks, gloves.  I should've brought a second layer for my legs becuase I was still cold.
Transportation: I took the 5:40am bus to the race.  Post race, I took the Green Line over to Prospect Park, Olive picked me up, and we watched the marathon over in her neck of the woods.

Route: This is the regular TC 10 Mile route.  I think they legit had some of the mile markers misplaced.  I hit mile 1 early, which should not have happened, and I hit mile 2 super later.

Plan/Goals: My 'scary' goal was to run 1:50.  I kind of let that go when I realized the 1:50 pacer was not even going to be in my corral.  My A goal was to beat last year's 10 Mile and Loony Challenge times.
My 'plan' was to run a solid pace, and then not look at pace at all during the climbs.  On the climbs I used some of the advice from here including that one about 'run like we are lifting you up and carrying you to the finish' which for some reason made me feel lighter on the hills.

Execution: I did not run an 11:00/mile pace, but I did beat last year by almost a full minute. I got a little wild at the start, and paid for it later.
I had a good cadence on the hills, and just suffered up them.
I put my foot down the last mile and cruised on home.
Nutrition: I wound up being very hungry, like I wanted some calories for this run.  I had a pre run Avocado (3/4 of one) with salt.  I should've had a banana or a Larabar or something too.  I wound up taking Gatorade at miles 3.5, 5, and 7 and the calories made me feel a bit better.

Results: 1:52:58 or an 11:18 mile for the 10 Mile.   Loony Challenge results are an 11:14 mile, which is a 8 second/mile increase over last year.  Over 19+ miles, I'll take it.  That increase in speed really hurt.  Especially today.    Last year Loony Results and 10 Mile results for reference. 

From today, I learned: Hard work in training pays off on race day!
Plan for hills.
I think the marathon is going to hurt.
Don't run the first mile too fast.
More calories the second day of a two day series.
SWAG: Long sleeve shirt and a medal.  Plus a pair of gloves. And a free beer at the end of the race for those over 21 with an ID.
Remember for next time: Bring a second layer for my legs post race.
The 5:40am bus is actually the 5:36am bus on Sundays.
Bonus: There were vodka samples in the beer tent.