This morning was the second event of the 2024 Atlanta Track Club Grand Prix series: the Members 10k. This seems like a continuation of their Hearts and Soles race (of varying distances over the years), but that was always in February. I suppose since it was in March this year, they changed the name.
- Official time
- 49:45
- Average pace
- 8:04 min/mi
- VDOT
- 40.2
- Splits
- 1mi
- 7:56
- 2mi
- 8:16
- 3mi
- 8:03
- First 5k
- 25:03
- 4mi
- 8:04
- 5mi
- 7:57
- 6mi
- 8:04
- 0.2mi
- 1:23
- Second 5k
- 24:42
- Ranking
-
- Overall
- 212/845
- Male
- 173/489
- Age Group (M40–44)
- 19/52
- Event Page
- 2024 Members 10K
- Strava Activity
- ATC Members 10k
Yesterday forecast heavy rains for this morning, so we were pleased that it had mostly cleared up. The roads were wet and there was a constant misting, but we weren’t going to get soaked.
My VDOT from January’s 5k indicated a 50:26 10k (8:06/mi average pace), so that was my target. I would try to run somewhere in the 8:05/mi–8:10/mi range for the first half, and then start pushing the pace by feel for the second half. I didn’t want to go out to hard and blow up.
The plan mostly worked. The first couple of miles were the hilliest, so gauging pace effort was difficult there. I started pushing at the halfway point, but just enough to combat slowing down. I was feeling good and within my means for the first four miles. I tried to get more aggressive in mile 5 and then focused on chasing groups of people for mile 6, but felt myself fading halfway through mile 6. That mile and a half were probably my fastest sustained paces, but I struggled to keep pace faster than 8:15/mi at the last half of mile 6. I eased into my kick for the last 0.2 miles and then let it rip for the final downhill 100 meters. I was glad to still have some gas in the tank for this final bit. I had nothing at the Southside 5k in January.
I’m happy with my performance. I think I paced well throughout, which gave me a negative split, some of my fasted paces in the second half, and some energy for the kick. An increased VDOT means faster training paces, too.
The next Grand Prix event is a track 3000m in April.