Twice this summer I PB’d on 10k courses.  10k is not really I distance I have worked on but this summer I did a couple to see where I was at.  Early in the summer I finished a race in 55:39, beating a previous time of 56 something.  By the end of the summer I did one in 53:05.  Both times I was thrilled, at least I was once I got over the initial urge to vomit.

Today I went into a 10k with no plans for a PB, but a more general goal of sub 55 minutes.  I had already spent two hours yesterday running up and down (and up and down some more) at a local ski hill for an orienteering event.  More about that in another post, but I will say now it was a blast.  I wasn’t as sore as I could have been today but I knew I was tired.  Thankfully I had switched my entry – I was originally entered into the half marathon but once I knew I was participating in the orienteering I decided 10k would be more than enough.

Did I beat my previous best time today?  I think so.  Here’s the problem, the course came up short, at least 110 metres short.  I hate that, particularly in this case because I came in under my best time.  I again surprised myself, something of a pleasant regularity now, and found myself running into the finish chute seeing a time starting with 52 on the clock.  I really hadn’t been looking at my pace very often so didn’t have a sense of what my time might be.  Ends up my final chip time was 52:15!  The extra bonus, no real urge to lose my breakfast!  Despite feeling tired I had a solid run, with my last full km being the fastest.  But do I get to count it as a PB?  Technically I guess not, though when I do the math I should have still come just slightly under my previous best.  As happy as I was to see that finish line, I wish it had been about 150 metres farther down the finish lane.