Race Recap: Evergreen Pumpkin Run 10 Miler

This Sunday, October 27, I ran the Evergreen Pumpkin Run 10 Miler in Jacksonville, Florida, and it was actually the first race I had run since the Castaway Cay 5K during my Disney Cruise earlier this year. The reasons why I've held off on racing are simple:

1. I didn't travel anywhere in the last four months;
2. During that timeframe, there weren't any local races that started at 5:30am, and that is the only time I ran during the ridiculously hot Summer months here in Florida.

But boy was this weekend different in an awesome running weather type of way! But let me get to that in a minute.

For me, some race stress actually started to kick in on Saturday night because as an avid Red Sox fan, I was conflicted between staying up to watch World Series Game 3 or being a responsible runner (who happens to be coming off an injury) and getting a good night's sleep before taking on what would be my longest race to date. Actually, it was my first double-digit-miles race. I ran a 15K earlier this year, but that was "only" 9.3 miles, so in retrospect, this Sunday was a pretty big deal!

Anyway  - back to the story - when the Red Sox fell behind 4-2 late in the game, I decided to go to bed; however, I texted a friend and told him to text me back only if the Sox had the tying and/or go ahead runs in scoring position. Well, an inning later the Sox threatened, he texted, the Sox tied the game, and I ended up staying awake for the rest of the contest...which didn't turn out as well as I would have liked in the end. In hindsight, I guess I should have just stayed in bed...oh well.

So after watching the Sox lose, I went back to bed and ended up getting a whole four-and-a-half (maybe 5) hours sleep before getting up at around 5:00am for the 8:00am race. After a couple cups of coffee, a bagel with peanut butter (my pre-race favorite), and some water, I did some Trigger Point massage therapy on my lower legs, bundled up a bit, and was in the car around 6:30-ish.

Bundled up? What do you mean by bundled up, Floridian?

Well, it turns out that it was in the low 50s when I woke up - Nice! - and was forecasted to be in the high 50s/low 60s for the race. To a Floridian who has been running in temps in the 70s and 80s with humidity in the 90s (before the sun comes up, mind you), that is absolutely IDEAL running weather.

So by the time I got to the race site (around 7:20), I picked up my timing chip (the shoelace chip), made sure the porta potties were in working order, mulled around for a little bit, had some idle chit chat with other runners, and then made my way over to the starting line.

By the way, all of this took place in a cemetery! Cue Puddy from Seinfeld - Yeah, that's right....a cemetery.

The Evergreen Pumpkin run - which actually consists of a 10 Miler and a 5K - is a run that makes its way through Jacksonville's Evergreen Cemetery, which is a beautiful old venue with majestic oak and magnolia trees canopying the paths and roadways. The route itself was pretty interesting, with quite a few twists and turns; but the signs marking the journey were clear, and there was never any doubt about which way to go. Oh, and by the way, we didn't trample on anyone's graves...all running was done on asphalt paths and roads, so the chances of a Poltergeist movie breaking out were slim to none.

But it was certainly an adventure...



From my Garmin Connect

Anyway, before embarking on this journey, I had a race plan. You see, the only reason I was running this race was to get myself a better corral placement for the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon, which requires a 10-Mile qualifying race (the 9.3 miler "missed it by that much"). As such, I just wanted to go out and run a decent "slow and steady" training-pace (12-minute-mile) race in order to move up a handful of corrals at Disney.

But remember when I said that the weather was just perfect for running? Well...

At the race's start, I definitely stuck with my plan. I ran the first mile at an 11:50 pace, and I was just enjoying the scenery, as well as the company of my fellow runners...although, to be honest, I wasn't actually talking with anybody because I was listening to some good running music.

But although I didn't pay close attention at the time, when I looked at my splits (at every mile) on Garmin Connect after I got home, I realized that with the exception of Mile 5, I got faster and faster as the race progressed. As I look back, it was just that I was having such a good time running through a beautiful venue in perfect running weather, I just happened to move faster and faster as the race progressed.

Somewhere around Mile 8, I hammed it up for the camera person who yelled that it looked like I still had a lot of spring in my step...and she was right!



Feeling Great around Mile 8!

In fact, for each of the last five miles, I was able to achieve negative splits (I think I'm addicted to negative splits); and my 10th mile actually turned out to be my fastest with a 9:55 pace, which must be why I found myself smiling at the finish!

What a Fun Race!

In short, I had a blast this past Sunday morning, and I highly recommend this race to Jacksonville's running community. Heck, even if it were hot, the course is so heavily shaded that battling the sun would not have been an issue...that said, I'm glad we had a cool morning!

At the end of it all, I beat my two-hour target by over ten minutes, as my chip time was 1:49:16, which put my overall pace at 10:55. And since this was my first 10-Mile race, it was of course a PR!!!

So did any of you race this past weekend? If so, I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Let's hope that's the case when I recap my upcoming Half Marathon at Disney, which is now less than two weeks away! I'll keep you posted on my nerves as we get closer to November 9th.


Until then, enjoy your journey...