So I had a pretty good 10k on Saturday. It was a small race and I was the 10th male overall, and the 13 person overall, out of I think 185 athletes. I was 4 minutes off of my PR, but I couldn’t help but be excited as I realized how cose to the front I finished. So how could I possibly be upset…
Here’s the Caveat:
10th overall, but 6th in my age group!!!
If I were 6 weeks older, I’d have won my new age group.
Still, I did finish top ten overall males. That felt pretty damn good.
Jason
Great job! It always feel good to break a barrier and push harder than you thought you could. Keep up the good work.
That happened to me last year at a tri as well. I came in third overall for my age group (which I NEVER expected). The caveat being that a lot of the fast folks were at Worlds that weekend and the field didn’t seem that deep.
With that said, that was something to look back at all season long and was a great motivator for training all season. So keep that feather in your cap and well done!!
You take any satisfying performances however they come. Not one’s fault if the studs don’t show up on a given day. Congrats on your finish!
My girlfriend had a similar situation last year at a 10k. She placed 4th in her AG and JUST missed out on the cash prizes, though she was still faster than the first place male in the same AG… brutal!
Great job. Top 13 is top 13. Top 7%. I’d be proud of that.
I am proud of how I did. It was a very tough course, and I worked really hard. Most important, I had fun.
But still - Why did so many of these guys ahead of me have to be in my age group??? I beat the age group winners for EVERY other age group but one BWAAAAAAAAAAHHH. 
Jason
Do that at a marathon and you would make some real money
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I was the 10th male overall, and the 13 person overall, So how could I possibly be upset…
cuz you got chicked?
(top 10 or top 13, whichever you want to look at, is a good run! nice job. can I have a cookie and milk too please? I’m hungry)
**cuz you got chicked? **
heh-heh, good one TC…
be proud of that finish you did a great run. If i were you i wouldnt be happy until i got the win. HTFU and get that win. dont eat that cookie because it will make you fat then you will never win!
I’m a chubby guy. I’ve always battled my weight. In the next year I’d like to find myself on the podium. Top ten was awesome, but on the podium…
Time to HTFU!
Jason
PS - Getting chicked is not necessarily a bad thing. Staring at the backside of a hot runner babe goes a long way to soothe my aching ego.
One time in an early season duathlon I was 6th or 7th OA and 5th 40-45. The guy behind me was also 40 - 45.
Styrrell
That’s going to be me in six weeks. I heading down the longstretch to the big 40!!!
Incidentally, If I were 40 this past weekend, Id have won my age group. Grrrrrrr.
Some races are just loaded towards the front end, some aren’t.
At Make A Wish oly. in Delaware last year I was 13th overall but still only the 4th in 35-39 AG.
Sounds like you kicked some butt in the race and should be proud of your accomplishment. You can never control who else shows up on race day. Sometimes you are the shit, other days you’re just another pile.
So I had a pretty good 10k on Saturday. It was a small race and I was the 10th male overall, and the 13 person overall, out of I think 185 athletes. I was 4 minutes off of my PR, but I couldn’t help but be excited as I realized how cose to the front I finished. So how could I possibly be upset…
Here’s the Caveat:
10th overall, but 6th in my age group!!!
If I were 6 weeks older, I’d have won my new age group.
Still, I did finish top ten overall males. That felt pretty damn good.
Jason
What was your time? To me time is what is important because that’s the real judge of how you did in a race (assuming comparable conditions) because competition can vary so much. I took 1st GM, 24th OA in a half M in December with a 1:32:37 but was MUCH happier with a 4th GM, 67th OA in February because I worked my way down to 1:29:47 in a race with 3000+ finishers. I’d be thrilled to finish 500th right now and run a legitimate 1:28. Hate to rain on your parade but I’d be pissed to be 4 minutes off my PR assuming both races were on accurate courses and there were no outside factors such as injuries slowing me down. Think about where you would have finished if you were in PR shape. Get yourself back in PR condition and the hardware will take care of itself and you might find yourself on the podium in a race like this.
JJ
JJ-
If I’d hit my PR, I’d have been 3rd male overall. Bear in mind, my pr is on a pancake flat course 3000 feet lower in altitude than what I was racing on.
I’d much rather hit a PR than finish high in my age group, no matter the size of the race.
What I thought was funny was how high I finished in the overall standings, but still barely cracked the top 3rd of my age group.
For reference:
Labor of Love 10k - 52:47
PR - 48:33
Another point of reference: I’m pretty sure that I still wouldn’t have qualified to be in any of the first 45 waves at the Bolder Boulder.
Jason
JJ-
If I’d hit my PR, I’d have been 3rd male overall. Bear in mind, my pr is on a pancake flat course 3000 feet lower in altitude than what I was racing on.
I’d much rather hit a PR than finish high in my age group, no matter the size of the race.
What I thought was funny was how high I finished in the overall standings, but still barely cracked the top 3rd of my age group.
For reference:
Labor of Love 10k - 52:47
PR - 48:33
Another point of reference: I’m pretty sure that I still wouldn’t have qualified to be in any of the first 45 waves at the Bolder Boulder.
Jason
Don’t think just because you’re getting old and pushing the big 40 that you can’t get back down to the mid/high 40s again for 10K. The altitude is going to slow you down a bit but a lot of runners just accept slowing down as the years start piling up and you don’t have to. And now’s the time to get your ass in gear since you’re getting ready for the masters jump. Don’t forget those other guys are coming up right behind you so the time to strike is the early years of the group. I was only 1:15 off my half M PR in Feb at 50 years old and that one was set at 40.
JJ
I have only been training hard for the past seven years. Before that I was 5’7" and 220 lbs.
I’ve dropped a lot of weight, but I figure that since I wasn’t a runner as a kid and young adult, I may have “younger” joints, and therefore may still have my best days ahead of me.
Some of my running goals still to come:
5k - 21 minutes
10K - 45 minutes
1/2 M - 1:45
Marathon: Quallify!!!
Jason
Weight is the big enemy in running. You know you’re in shape when friends & family start whispering behind your back and questioning your health. 10 lbs lost can net you 2 1/2 minutes in a 10K
JJ