On the Up and Up

Yesterday I ran an out-and-back 10K in Shelburne VT.  It’s a race I’ve run several times before, though it had been a few years, so I knew the course well enough.  The first mile is a long uphill from the start away from Shelburne Town Beach.  The 5K turnaround is at the Charlotte Beach, also by the lake, and there’s a decent descent to that beach and then a rise on the way back. Not surprising, my fastest mile was the third, followed by the second slowest for the fourth. 

The tricky part of this course were the second and fifth miles, which largely mirrored each other.  Going out I was sure there was a slight uphill, though I felt good and my RPE was probably around 7.0. I looked forward to having that incline reversed coming back. Strangely, the course seemed to rise in the fifth mile, which turned out to be my slowest mile by 20 seconds, reflecting an RPE exceeding 8.0. The saying, “what goes up, must come down” popped into my head, but it didn’t help.  I vaguely recalled a similar occurrence in the middle of the course in other years. 

There were no doubt at least three variables involved.  One, there was a slight headwind going back, not something I noticed outbound.  Two, later in the race I was feeling the grind, whereas outbound I was still feeling pretty fresh.  Inbound, I was using tricks such as “make it to the next sign” to maintain pace, which was falling off anyhow. Three, the middle miles are on a dirt road; the side we were on coming back on was a bit more rocky and canted.  Maybe there was also something about the tree line or hedging up to the road.  Or maybe I was just hallucinating!

Perhaps it’s not unlike the second or third 800-meter interval versus the fifth and sixth on the track. Surely, the latter ones are harder, even at a consistent pace.  Yet, I have not noticed the track tilting upwards.  That would be scary! 

If I run this race again, I’ll be sure to drive it and check a topo-map. At the very least I’ll be aware of the need to save up for those return miles.  (By the way, the last downhill mile that mirrored the uphill start was my second fastest mile.  If that stretch had looked uphill, I would have been in serious trouble!)