Can You PR A Mismeasured Race?

It was one of those mornings that cant decide if it wants to be a nice day, or a dreary day. Before and during the race the skies would switch between sun and heat and gloom with a cool breeze. I took a few pics, and from one to the next you can see how much the skies changed. By the time we left the race it looked like the decision had been made ... its definitely a gloomy day.

This was the first year the Race For the Cure added a 10K, and you could tell it was not the focus of race organizers. The course was horrible, wrapping back and forth with crazy and odd movements. In addition, we were shuffled off to the lakefront path (which can be nice) while the rest of the people (5K runners and walkers) appeared to have taken over the city streets. It was amazing how few people were doing the 10K when you look at the total amount of people there this morning. It was just crazy!. Not that I think RunKeeper is the end-all-be-all of measurement, but when it doesnt have its hiccups I do believe it to be accurate. According to my data, I ran 5.97 miles today ... not 6.2. The 10K I did in July had a total of 6.14 miles, the difference easily accounted for by hugging corners, etc. I dont think there is a way to shave off .2 miles from a race just by keeping close on the corners, making me think there was a bit of an issue in measuring the total distance of this race. In my gut, mile 6 felt a bit off and might have been the source of the issue) Anyway, if you compare race to race I finished almost exactly 7 minutes faster this time. So even with the discrepancy in distance I still improved on my time quite a bit :

The best part of the race was the treats at the end. There were lots of bananas, which are pretty standard. But there was a ton of other stuff too ... including cheesecake and poundcake from Sara Lee. Oh yeah! We actually ate enough snacks after the race that I felt like I had a full breakfast. There were bananas (and cookies) than I had ever seen at the end of a race.

Race Results
Time:1:03:01   Distance:5.97 mi   Pace:10:33

(Official time: 1:02:58.8)
I ran the first three miles with my friend, who pushed me to run much faster than I would have liked to (and I was still slowing her down). After mile 3 she ditched me and I tried to trail a couple of girls ... but one was a spitter and it was getting a bit gross. Due to my too-fast pace in the beginning, along with a course that had way more hills than expected, I ended up slowing down a bit near the end of the race. Its not the ideal way to finish, but I am glad that I pushed myself more than expected. We will see how I feel later in the day before I decide whether I will thank or smack my friend for making me run so much faster than my body or mind wanted to.

Despite the fact I just gave some praise to RunKeeper, it now does not show my indiidual mile paces. I'd love to report them, but I cant. Figures.