Friday 5 - MCM 10k Plans

I'm especially excited that it's Friday this week because it's Marine Corps Marathon weekend in town.  There's a great energy around town and it's also the first time I'm going to be participating in a small way since I'm running the 10k.  And of course, Friday also means it's time for the Friday 5 link up with Mar, Cynthia and Courtney.  Today, I'm going to talk about my plans for MCM weekend.

1.  The weekend starts with the expo Saturday morning for me. The friend I'm running the race with is going to join me at my place in the morning and we're going to take the metro in together to the convention center.  The plan is to take our time checking things out, taking photos and having fun.

2.  Saturday night, my friend is coming back over to spend the night.  Yay, slumber party!  Except for the fact that we have to wake up super early.  So chances are that we'll chat a bit but then just go to bed early so we're ready to head out at 5am.

3.  I went ahead and used parking panda to get a spot not too far from the race start Sunday morning.  I didn't want to mess with metro race morning and since there are 2 of us, the price for the spot is about the same as metro would cost for 2 people. I love Parking Panda!

4.  The 10k. So I'm not sure of my plans for the race itself. My long run last week where I felt like I was struggling with the uphills was close to a 10k PR anyway.  I really want to try for a 10k PR and I feel like I should be able to do it since my last 10k PR was from June 2014 and I've gotten faster since then.  But every time I've tried for a 10k PR this year, I've flamed out.  I still haven't figured out the 10k pacing correctly.  The other variable is I'm not sure how hilly the route is. I know there's an uphill at the end for the final .2 and there's an incline at the memorial bridge, which is around mile 2.  So I think I'm just going to try to race by feel and keep it a more comfortable pace for the beginning.  If things are going well and I'm on pace for a PR toward the end, I'll push it some more.

 

One of my earlier 10ks from this year that did not go well.

5. Post-race brunch! We've made reservations a mile or so away from the finish line so that we can walk over after the race.  The reservation is at Tupelo Honey Cafe and the menu looks delicious!  I am excited to try it.  And as an added bonus, the metro stop by the restaurant will be a stop earlier than the MCM finish line stop so hopefully it won't be too crowded when we get on the train and we can actually get seats as we take the train back to the car.

So those are my plans for the weekend!  I hope you guys have a great weekend too.