Eye of the Dragon 10k

February has some of the best running weather in Florida so there are always a ton of races to choose from! I really enjoyed running the Eye of the Dragon 10k last year as it had a nice course, great entertainment and beautiful medals so I signed up to run it again. The weather was around 68F at race start but humid. The course was exactly the same as last year. It runs along the side of the river for about 1.5 miles then back past the start line. Then it goes left over the causeway about 1.5 miles and back with the start line transforming into the finish line.

My 10k PR before this race was a 1:09:42 from this race in 2019. I was aiming to hit sub 1:07 use as proof of time for runDisney races in hopes of qualifying for corral D. I had been trying to incorporate a bit of speed work into my training between marathon weekend and this race but I didn't really have a specific strategy for improving my time. I did make a running playlist to listen to during this race. I don't usually listen to music while I run so I was hoping it would provide a bit of extra motivation. I also opted to carry my own water so I could skip some of the water stops.

I felt really good at the beginning of the race. It was still pretty cool out and I was excited. The music definitely kept me pumped, a bit too pumped in fact. I went out a bit too fast in the first mile so I pulled it back a bit and I was on track when I hit the midway point past the start/finish line. And I passed the midway point before the race winner crossed the finish line which was a nice bonus!

Then I headed out over the causeway. In 2018, I did a lot of running over the causeway leading up to this race in 2019 so my legs were used to hills but in 2019, I really slacked on the hill runs so it was quite an effort to make it up the causeway. I tried to maintain a decent pace while not pushing myself too hard. But right around mile 4, I got side stitches so I had to take an extended walk break. It was right in front of the race photographer too. Not sure why they had her at the top of the causeway where we all looked like death but that's what happened.

I was able to start running again soon after but I never regained the sub 11 minute mile that I needed to reach my goal. At this point in the race, there's no shade and the Florida sun was starting to beat down on me. I did keep pushing myself all the way to the finish despite things not going according to plan. I clocked in at 1:10:27 which came in as my second fastest 10k and only 45 seconds slower than my 10k PR. It's also a really solid runDisney corral E POT. I definitely need to start running the causeway again though!