Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K (44:02)

I was not really excited to run the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K. I am usually excited to race, but the few days before, I did not feel great. I actually wondered if I was getting sick, although I did test negative twice for COVID. Since I had a nonrefundable hotel, I made the drive down to Redondo Beach. Even almost a week later, I am not fully feeling like myself.

Before the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K:

I planned to leave home at 10:30. That turned out to be leaving at 1:45 pm. I mostly slept and did literally nothing. I was tired, my body didn’t feel great, and I wondered how I was going to even run a 10K. I should have wondered how I was going to make the 2-hour trek to Redondo Beach. After finally motivating myself, I made the journey down. There wasn’t too much traffic, and I stopped for dinner. I arrived at my hotel around 5:30 and then realized I had missed packet pickup until 4. Not a big deal. I fell asleep around 7 pm and slept until 5. It wasn’t the most quality sleep I’ve had, but it was good enough.

I woke up with some stomach cramps (again, why is this a race theme lately?). That was my biggest concern the last few days, despite my legs not feeling great. But I warmed up about 2 miles and didn’t feel terrible, so I hoped that would be the case. I warmed up for 20 minutes, and by the time I knew it, it was time to race.

Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K:

I wasn’t sure where to seed myself at the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K starting line, and I figured there would be a lot of people taking it out too fast. It was partially true, but I probably was in about the right spot. I looked down at my watch during the first mile, and it said 6:30. I thought, no, that is a recipe for disaster, and dialed it back to around a 7-minute pace. I didn’t have a goal for the race, although under 7:15 would be good. Although, I also did not realize how hilly the race course was.

I hit the first mile in 6:54. It felt hard, but not terrible. The next mile of Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K had some hills, and I told myself just make it to the halfway. There was a boys’ high school cross country team taking up half the road, so it was hard to pass them. And we nearly collided when getting water, but I just focused on making it one mile at a time. I hit the second mile of the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K in 7:02.

The third mile actually went downhill a bit before going uphill. I must have tuned the downhill part out because I thought we would only go back downhill getting back. I ran a 7:01 third mile. We rounded an uphill turn and then began heading towards the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K finish. I kept thinking, hopefully, I don’t fade now because that would be rough.

I didn’t realize how much uphill we had going back, and the next mile was the hardest overall. I ran a 7:08 and kept wondering if I would even be able to finish. It just felt like it was never-ending.

We started going downhill at mile 5, and I got excited. A downhill finish? Yes, please. Sadly, around 5.5, we went straight uphill, and that uphill nearly broke me. It felt like I was walking uphill because it was so steep. After that, I just hoped the rest was downhill. Once I caught my breath, I just ran as hard as I could. I knew I hadn’t run the tangents well and guessed I would be .2 longer, so I mentally prepared myself for that.

I finished the last bit at a 6:27 pace and was pleasantly surprised by my kick. I crossed the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K finish in 44:02, my fastest 10k in a couple of years.

Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K Thoughts:

I can’t really complain since I did not feel great, and I ran my fastest 10K in a couple of years. Last fall, before my hip injury, I knew I was in sub-7-minute 10K shape. That never happened (really not even close), so it was nice to be right there surprisingly. I’m looking forward to 5 more weeks of marathon training (really 3 weeks and a taper) before the race.

You can see all race recaps here and Strava here.

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