Do the Double - New Double PR!

On Sunday, Jim and I did the Double Road Race in Overland Park, KS.  The race consisted of a 10K, followed by a 5K, with a short break in between races.  It's considered one race, with two legs vs. two separate races.  The winner is based on the overall time for both races....there was no 10K or 5K winner and you had to complete both races to get a finishers medal.  "The Double" as it is known, was created by Runners World founder Bob Anderson.  This was only the 2nd US race and the first of 2013, but the series is coming to several more cities this year.

The concept sounded like a fun challenge, so of course Jim and I signed up as soon as we heard about it.  Race morning came and we were up early to prepare for the race.  We skipped the pre-race dance at our last race in June, and my performance suffered majorly...so I told him we HAD to do it this time.  Every time we skip it one or both of us has a bad race.  So we got our pre-race dance party on and then headed out the door to the Corporate Woods business park where the race would be held.



One of the free race photos..another perk of the race

Normally this time of year in Kansas City the weather is miserable.  It would be very conceivable that this race would have been 80-85 degrees at the start with 90%+ humidity.  But, as luck would have it a mild cold front settled over the Kansas City area.  Race morning was comfortable....awesome really.  It was about 67 for the start of the first race.  The humidity was still a little high, but honestly you couldn't complain.

I had originally planned on doing a triathlon the day before this race, but that didn't work out in the end.  So, I had no real goals for this race, since the original plan was just to finish.  I was just planning to count it as my long run for the week and take it at a little faster pace than a long run.

When I lined up at the race start I tried to turn on my ipod and it was dead!  I had charged it the night before (or so I thought) but apparently the plug in wasn't working and it was totally dead.  Luckily I rarely run with music, so it wasn't a big deal, but I still wished I had music as it's a nice distraction in a race. 

Anyway, I started running and felt good.  I had planned to walk a minute after each mile, but after mile 1 I was still feeling good, so I just kept going.  I was happy to see the miles tick away quickly while I was maintaining a pace in the 10s the entire time.  By mile 5 I was still feeling great and had a little left in the tank so I picked up the pace a bit and ran my fastest mile of the 10K!  When I was done, I was shocked to realize I had just taken 6 minutes off of my previous 10K PR!!!!  I will admit, I've only done 3 other 10Ks and my PR was a pretty sad 1:13 (11:36 pace), but I was super happy with my new 1:07 - a 10:42 pace - official pace was 10:51.

After I crossed the finish line it was time for the "recovery" between races.  There were people there to help you stretch, give massages, etc.  I headed for the bathroom and just wanted to keep moving.  I caught up with Jim who had also set a new 10K PR!  Because I am a slower runner, my recovery time was shorter than many people.  Honestly I didn't like having the break.  It wasn't long enough to fully recover and it was just long enough to make me feel tired (I had about 25 minutes between races).

The 5K leg started and my legs felt like two lead pipes.  I kept thinking that as I started to run I would start to feel better, but I didn't.  I had given it all I had and I had little left for the 5K.  My pace slowed from the start and I never could make a push.  In the end I finished the 5K in 35:09 an 11:18 pace.  But I was still happy with my performance overall.  I've only done one 15K, and this race was basically a spilt up 15K.  My combined time was 1:42, a 5 minute PR from my previous 15K.  So, two PRs in one day was pretty sweet!  I think I could have actually ran the race faster if I could have just kept going without the break, but oh well.

When I crossed the finish line Billy Mills was there to shake my hand and congratulate me!  This was pretty cool.  Billy won the Gold Medal in the 1964 Olympics for the 10K distance.  Still to this day, he is the only American to win gold in this distance!  He was really awesome and encouraging.

Jim and I will Billy Mills

Overall, this race was a fun challenge and something a little different.  It was another great day of racing and hanging out with Jim!  Jim was 2nd in his AG in this race!!  So we had something to celebrate, PRs and AG awards!!  And to make it even better we got to meet an Olympic Gold medalist!  Pretty good day any way you slice it!!


Jim and I post race with our double sided medals!

Getting a calf massage after the race.  I needed it!