Winter Sun 10K, Moab.

Seeking a late-autumn warm weekend, a month or so ago I signed up for the Winter Sun 10K in Moab, Utah. With fun activities beyond a 10K always available in and near Moab, it was planned as a way to extend my running season in a bit more temperate climate. About six hours from home, it's a relaxing one-day drive.

I suppose with Nederland temps near zero and 50-60 mph winds, Moab's 15-20° was a bit more temperate. It wasn't, however, exactly what I had in mind for running a 10K. With the town nestled against the west-facing flank of the mountain, the late rising sun made for a cold warmup. You'll see from the image here we're all wearing fairly hefty winter clothing--fleece, hats, long sleeves, tights, gloves. It wasn't too conducive to what might be called warming up the muscles.

My times in standardized runs are a way for me to monitor / assess my general overall conditioning. I don't have in mind a specific goal for a given race, but have settled in my mind on the goal of finishing in the top half of my age group and of the general field of runners.  With that in mind and with my history of finishing in about 60 minutes, I project for Claudia what I think my conditioning will allow for a given race.

For the Winter Sun 10K I reviewed my running journal and discovered few of my recent runs with any speed component. I'm really savoring the long-slow of running, and do have some good mileage I've put in; I've become pretty comfortable in hilly terrain. But other than the occasional fartlek session, I've done darned little speed work.

Based on that, I told Claudia I'd be happy to break 60 minutes, but thought more reasonably I'd come in at 65. I've done very few miles at faster than a 10:00m/m pace.

As it turned out, running conditions were actually quite good. As ever, I based my strategy for the run on my heart rate, measured on my usually trustworthy Garmin Forerunner 305, intending to do negative splits. Here's how it broke down:

Mile	Time	HRave
1	10:00	132
2	9:09	138
3	9:30	145
4	8:38	143
5	8:42	146
6	8:45	152
.2	2:00	162
Total	56:47	147

My intention was to do the first laps with HR in the 130s, middle laps in the 140s, finish in the 150s and give it everything I had in the last .2 mile.

great photo from Claudia.

56:47 is a new Personal Record for me. At the end I still felt quite good, and Claudia reports I still looked pretty good compared to other finishes she's been there for. Even pushing hard the last .2, my cardio felt strong and deep; the limits I was aware of were in my foot speed and muscle strength--understandable for my training regimen.

Goals: my time put me at 5th out of 15 in my age group, the top third; overall 327 out of 687, about the 52nd percentile. Satisfying, and a suggestion to me that my general level of conditioning is pretty good these days.

Post race, the raffle went equally well for me. I missed out on the t-shirts, the socks, the hour at the pilates center, the pound of coffee. But I did win a guaranteed entry in the lottery-driven registration for the Canyonlands Half Marathon, March 2010. Hoping for that win, I'd put off registering for the Half.

(Post-race events went on for what seemed like an interminable time, in the cold and wind. I stuck around to see how the the raffle would go, but was ready to leave when Claudia insisted we stay for one last drawing for the Half. Thanks to her, I hung around. It was worth it.)


After a long, hot shower and leisurely afternoon at the nearby LaQuinta, we took in the charming and touching light parade--Utah State Highway 191 converted to a magical alley of Christmas lights--and finished the evening with a spell of contra dancing.

Join the Community Dance Band
Do you play an instrument? Do you want to play with other folks? Then join the band! The Moab Community Dance Band rehearses on Tuesday nights at 7:30 at the MARC and plays for a community contra dance every month. All instruments are welcome; some music reading ability is helpful.

from radio KZMU website.

Fiddle. Mandolin. Guitar. Keyboard. Tin Whistle. Concertina. Clarinet. Silver trumpet. Tuba.

Sweet.







Before heading for home we did a little expeditionary trip to Dead Horse Point State Park, to explore picnicking and/or camping sites. Turns out it's basically a viewpoint park, overlooking Canyonlands National Park. Nothing for camping but the view is spectacular. On our next trip we'll explore the National Park.

To finish up the trip, of course, we had to drive through an opening in one of the largest cold fronts I've ever witnessed--coast to coast in the United States, with snow in Sacramento, California and snow in New Orleans, Louisiana. We traveled uneventfully, returning to our warm mountain home with tired bodies and grateful hearts.

Now I'll continue my conditioning for the coming Half Marathon.