My first attempt at a race report. This was a relatively minor race so will use this as a learning experience.
I signed up a week prior for a Thanksgiving Day race in Ashburn, VA aptly named Ashburn Farm 10k/5k. This was actually my first ever 10k race which is fun since anytime I finish in actually becomes my PR.

Did not do much specific race “prep” for this particular race. I did run a relatively short long run the Saturday prior of 7 miles at about a 9 min pace (slightly faster than my typical long run pace).

Pre-Race:
I had my typical pre-race meal: bagel with peanut butter, cup of coffee, and 2 cups of water. It was COLD that morning (~25 degrees) and I wore for the first time Running Tights.  I bought Sugoi MidZero Tights as recommended by DC Rainmaker and I will admit that they were perfect. Fit was great and they kept my legs very warm. I was at my parents house for thanksgiving and I forgot my running gloves which I thought wouldnt be a big deal (MISTAKE!). Anyways hopped into the car with the family (sisters and mom were running 5k).

Me with my mom and sisters prior to race

Race:
The starting line was well organized and there was only 1 wave for the 10k (~800 runners). We started a bit late (8:18am vs 8:15am planned) but otherwise we were off. Course was very flat and generally straight with a couple of switch backs. Switch backs are a bit demoralizing to me for a couple reasons…1. you see the runners WAY faster than you as they come back  2. Once you see runners coming back after a switchback my mind tends to anticipate the turnaround point even if I cant see it. This inevitably leads me to the “am I there yet” poor mental state which is demoralizing when running any distance. Not having my running gloves came back to haunt me as my hands were FREEZING! There was a bit of a wind at time which made breathing tough with the cold air but otherwise I was comfortable in my running tights and 2 long sleeve technical t-shirts plus running skull cap.

Results:
I successfully finished! I had set a goal of under 50 mins which I achieved by 10 seconds. Official time: 00:49:50 which comes to right around 8 min miles. Not too shabby for me. I probably could have pushed it a bit more but being my first 10k I pretty much ran steady state for first 5 miles and then cranked it up the last 1.2 miles.

Splits:
1 Mile – 7:57
2 Mile – 8:16
3 Mile – 8:12
4 Mile – 8:04
5 Mile – 8:13
6 Mile – 7:25
Last 0.2 Mile – 6:51 pace

So a pretty clear steady-state miles 1-5 with a ramp up during mile 6 through finish.

Post Race:Overall I was very happy with my first 10k performance. Obviously I have a ton of room to improve which is part of the fun with running. I think getting my steady state to under 8 min/mile with a slightly faster Mile 1 and Mile 6 would easily knock a couple minutes off my time. I think a sub 48 min 10k is not far off in my future.