I first discovered the Reston Perfect 10 three years ago and was excited to have another 10 mile race to add to my schedule. Potomac River Running holds the Reston 10 Miler on the same course in March, so I’ve run this course five times (I missed the Perfect 10 last fall because of a business trip), but I’m still not used to those hills!
Actually, since I had just reviewed the elevation profile for my Fall Running post, I was mentally prepared for a tough time from mile 6 to mile 8. Instead of pysching me out, knowing that long climb was coming helped me pace myself and ignore the numbers on my Garmin.
The Reston Perfect 10 is a relatively small race, held at a local high school, with proceeds supporting the high school track team. Parking is plentiful, same-day packet pick-up is a breeze, and there are plenty of porta-pottys.
Most runners would be happy to see such a huge bank of open pottys,
but after following this sign it’s hard not to be disappointed.
You could use real restrooms inside the high school,
but those lines were really long.
As we were lining up to start, I hit another snafu from my recent iPhone debacle. Although I had backed up my playlists to “the cloud” and restored my phone, I never re-downloaded the playlists to my phone. So, my phone needed to use cellular data to play my music. That would have been fine, but it seemed only willing to do so one song at a time, which wasn’t going to work for a 10 mile race. I gave up on my playlists and decided to listen to the Hamilton soundtrack again. I am not a big muscial buff, but the soundtrack is awesome and amazingly well-suited to running.
Huge thanks to an MRTT friend who suggested it–and told me that it was available free on Amazon Prime Music. If you’re not an Amazon Prime member you might want to check out the Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
Reston Perfect 10 Race Recap
I knew going into the race I was not going to PR–I don’t know how I pulled off an 8:16 pace in March!–but I wanted to run hard and finish strong. Instead of aiming for an even pace, I tried to work the hills, picking up my pace on the down hills and powering through the ups. I also enjoyed the scenery and the weather–it was in the low 60s and most of the course had some shade. I just love the feeling of cool air on my skin when I’m running–a simple pleasure, I guess!
When I started out I didn’t feel like I was running hard, but my first few splits were 8:06, 8:08 and 8:17. A longer climb to mile 4 slowed me down to 8:40 but I picked up my pace again to 8:14 for mile 5. I cruised in to mile 6 at 8:18, and then came miles 7 (9:04) and 8 (8: 49). I actually felt strong during mile 8, but whenever I tried to pick up my pace my calves rebelled–a ripple went through my right calf warning me that it was on the verge of cramping. I held back to 8:40 for mile 9 (which has it’s own climb) and then finished strong at 7:52 (but my Garmin measured that mile short at 0.96).
Thanks to Kim for taking my picture!
As usual I had to pull up my Race Recap page to see how my results compared to previous years. I was happy to see that it was a PR for the Reston Perfect 10, although I’ve always run the Reston 10 Miler faster.
After I collected my bling and my bagel, I headed over to the Select Physical Therapy tent to see if they had any samples of Biofreeze I could slather on my calves. Even better, they were offering free mini-massages. The physical therapist found knots in both of my calves that proved how much I’ve been slacking on stretching and foam rolling–something I need to work on before the Army Ten Miler in two weeks!
[Tweet “2016 Reston #Perfect10 #RaceRecap #runchat”]
All in all, it was a great race on a great day for running. While my time wasn’t my fastest, I definitely wasn’t running my hardest–although I doubt my calves would have let me run any faster. If I want to do better on this course I will need to do more hill repeats–not just the 2 minute intervals we do at Orange Theory Fitness. I’ll have to keep that in mind when I gear up for the Reston 10 Miler in March. 🙂
I’m linking up with the Weekly Wrap link up hosted by Holly and Tricia.
Make sure you come by next Saturday for the Ultimate Coffee Date link up!
Do you have any muscials on your playlist?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
Great job on the race! I hope that the calves are feeling better. Small races are fun without all the hype and hoopla of some big races. It’s nice to breeze in and out of things without all the lines.
Yes, it really is nice not having to stress over logistics. Army Ten Miler will be quite a contrast with 30,000 runners and no Metro!
Congrats on your PR and managing those hills!
Wow, impressive splits for a super hilly 10 miler…congratulations!! Oh and by the way…I’m a huge musical fan and really, really want to see Hamilton!
Thanks! I’m not sure when I’ll get to see it, but in the meantime I am loving the music!
Hey, you did great. Even though you had the calf snafu it didn’t seem to hold you back any. Kudos for taking on those hills! I will be excited to hear about the Army 10 miler when you run it because I may consider that one for my fall race next year!
I’ve run Army Ten Miler many times, so I’m happy to answer questions.!
D*MN YOU ARE IMPRESSIVE, Woman.
I tell you all the time but I still have no idea how you do it all.
I was there for the 10k on Sunday and enjoyed the race for the most part. I knew it was supposed to be hilly and thought I was prepared but a couple of those uphills still took me by surprise. And I love the Hamilton cast album 🙂 It really does work great for listening to while running.
Oh, sorry I didn’t see you! Maybe next time!
Haha, Reston is hilly! Great job on the race.
Wow Coco you did an amazing job on that course and look at that pace too! Sounds like a great race! I’m glad you got to do it this year!!!
Awesome job Coco. Didn’t I see where you found out you placed in your age group? Congrats! I need to check out the Hamilton soundtrack. I’m having problems with my music on the cloud! My songs are no longer available to sync with my iShuffle, only my phone. Sigh. Thanks for linking!
Yes, I found that out Monday night! Hamilton is ah-maze-ing!
I do love that 10 mile distance! Congrats on the PRs. Hopefully your calves are feeling better by now.
Excellent Job! Looks like a great race. I think a 10 mile race is the perfect challenging distance. I don’t have musicals I just play the google play radio of my favorite artists.
Awesome finish time for such a hilly race! My calves were seizing up on me at my half on Sunday (in the final 3 miles or so), I can literally feel your pain.
Another great race for you! I have still not done this race but I do like the bathrooms in the high school especially on cold days.
I have never done this race but it looks pretty hilly! Great job!! I am digging the tee shirt!
Nice job! Gotta love a short line to the portos!
Congrats! I’ve never run the Reston Perfect 10, but I’ve run the Reston Ten Miler so I’m familiar with that hilly course. Great job!
Congratulations on your PR! Looks pretty darn speedy to me! I really need to run some more races down in your direction, this looks like a good one, despite the hills, haha!
Fantastic job!! I’ve been shying away from hilly races lately, they can be so demoralizing mid race, but they definitely make you stronger. And I do like having some variety rather than completely flat. You did great!
Look at that pace! You did fantastic 🙂 You earned your AG place.
That shirt looks so good on you! A very nice cut, it is rare to get such a good shirt at a race.
Thanks! It is a fun shirt.