This Sunday, April 10 CARA has our annual Wintrust Lakefront 10 Miler & 5k. The 10 mile distance represents the third stop on this year’s CARA Runners’ Choice Circuit and is also the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) 10 Mile Championship! While 10 miles can certainly be a formidable race distance, it provides a nice round number that is easier to break down mentally than many other distances.
Step inside the “Coach Bradley Brain" as below I provide my mental notes for breaking down this classic race distance, which includes counting the covered distance on the way up to the halfway point and then counting down the distance as I get closer to the finish line.
Start
Get off to a nice even start and establish pace and breathing rhythm
Don’t “chase” run your own race
Mile 1
10% done!
Check mile split
Am I over or under goal pace?
Mile 2
20% done!
1/5th of the way home!
Check mile split again to make sure I am completely dialed into goal race pace
Mile 3
30% done!
Should be locked into pace by now
Just keep clicking off splits
Mile 4
40% done
1 more mile to half way!
Mile 5
Half Way!
Time to Start Countdown!
Mile 6
40% to go!
What do I have left in the tank?
Mile 7
Just 30% of the way to go!
Just 3 more miles!
Mile 8
Just 20% to go,
Only 1 more mile, until I have 1 more mile left!
Mile 9
Last mile!
I can do anything for a mile!
Approaching Finish!
Look for the clock to confirm time
See what I have left in the “tank” and try to use it all up before the finish!
As always, remember that you have Cricket Hill and about 100m stretch of track to cover over the last mile before the finish line!
