2010 norwalk summer series 11 miler: race report

Saturday’s race was my fifth Norwalk Summer Series 11 miler in the last 6 years! The double loop (2x a rolling 5.5 miles) course always seems tougher than I remember it. My only time goal was a sub-8 minute pace - hopefully, a sub 7:50 pace. Last year I ran a 1:24:30, 7:41 pace, and I would be happy to repeat a sub-1:25 finish.

The race starts and finishes at Silvermine High School - which doubles as the start and finish of the Boston Build-up 25k during the winter. In that context, we get off a little easier in the summer with only 11, instead of 15.5 miles. The first mile is mostly downhill, reaching the bottom of the loop. The course has one long climb and one notable short, steep climb.

My first mile was also my fastest, at 7:13. I also had a pair of 7:21's at the end of each loop. My slowest mile clocked in at 8:12 (facing the short, steep climb the second time). The rest of the miles bounced between 7:34 and 7:50. My 1:24:36 finish, 7:41 pace, was 6 seconds off my 2009 finish. Emmy finished immediately in front of me, and Brian just ahead of Emmy.

Here are the splits:

7:13
7:49 15:03
7:50 22:53
7:34 30:27
7:45 38:13
7:21 45:34
7:50 53:26
8:12 1:01:38
7:46 1:09:25
7:48 1:17:14
7:21 1:24:36

7:41 pace

Afterwards, and a highlight of the summer series races, was a visit to the ice cream truck. But the real highlight of the morning was Roy’s fresh tomatoes from his yard after the awards ceremony - which, in turn, brought back memories of my own tomato growing years in Brooklyn!

Here are my race photos.

Next up: the Waveny Summer XC Series 3 person Eiken relay tomorrow night.