Walk Into the Future

Tag: Winter park 10k

  • 2025 Winter Park 10k

    “Every pizza is a personal pizza when you are marathon training”.

    (Unknown)

    My Walk into the Future continues to be centered around being a running tourist.  I love to sign up for races and explore locations and enjoy the sights and sounds of each city. 

    Winter Park, Florida is in my regular running rotation with multiple distances: 5ks and 10ks each year in my running schedule.  The Track Shack headquarters is right down the street and returning to Winter Park for races allows me to visit with my friends at Track Shack and Orlando.  I met the owners on a running trail in Tallahassee, Florida while they were visiting their daughter and grandchildren years ago.  It’s always great to return to check out new merchandise and talk with local runners before the races.

    I ran my first Winter Park 10k back in 2019 and have not missed a race since.  I ran my 10k personal record (PR) of 55:57 (9:00 minutes per mile) back in 2021.  Fun fact—my three fastest 10ks have all been run during the Winter Park 10k.  The course is mostly flat and allows runners to stretch out and go fast.  I think that’s the part I love about this race—I know I will be fast because of the course familiarity and understanding when to push the pace to hit the finish line with a good race time.

    The 2025 Winter Park 10k was the last long race before heading to Nashville for the 2025 Nashville Rock N Roll Half Marathon.  The Winter Park race provides me with a fitness test to determine how much work I still need to accomplish before NashVegas.

    I made my way over to Track Shack the day before the race to pick up my race packet and get settled in my hotel.  I am a creature of habit so try to hit Track Shack before the large crowd arrives.  I like to get some shopping done while I’m in the store and it is better before the crowd arrives. 😊 They didn’t have any new gear in my size, so I just walked around a bit and then headed out to carb load.

    I made my way to the UCF Buffalo Wild Wings to get my fill of wings, potato wedges and beers.  I didn’t need to go overboard with the carbs since this was a 10k—still needed carbs but decided to forego the pasta and use the potato wedges and beer to carb up a bit.

    Headed across the street to my favorite hotel in Oviedo to get off my feet and get prepared for a big race day.  My bedtime comes early when I have a race coming up and I need extra rest to feel fresh—mission accomplished.

    I headed over to Park Avenue in Winter Park with plenty of time to warm up and stretch before the race.  The race village was teeming with runners when I arrived, so I found a spot to stretch without getting run over by folks trying to get to the 2-mile race start line.  I’ve never completed the double race (2-miler and 10k) but a lot of folks like the challenge so they can double up on race medals. 

    I toed the 10k line feeling fresh and wanted to run a good time.  The weather was warmer than last year but there was no humidity in the air.  This normally means a fast time for me regardless of the distance.  Let’s fast forward a bit and I was off my 10k PR by a little over 2 minutes.  This was my fastest 10k since 2021 and I felt good from start to finish.  I was able to cross the finish line with a smile and passed quite a few runners at the end.  I normally zone out the finish line crowds but decided to enjoy hearing total strangers cheer for me.  It was a great day to race!

    I made my way back into the race village to take some pictures and get my ice-cold beer.  Track Shack partners with local nurseries and everyone got a nice plant to take home as a prize.  I collected my potted plant and made my way back to my vehicle.  I dropped off some of my running gear and headed to Croissant Gourmet Bakery for breakfast.  I’ve been to this spot before and decided to treat myself to a great breakfast and do some people watching before heading back to Oviedo.  I highly recommend this spot if you are ever on Park Avenue.

    https://www.croissantgourmet.com/

    Spring break for Indian River State College starts tomorrow and I’m heading back down to Negril, Jamaica for rum, sun and reggae! 😊

    Irie!

    Calvin Williams

    “You know you are a runner when you plan vacations around races”.

    (Unknown)

  • 2023 Winter Park 10k

    WP 1

    “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you”.

    (Fred Devito)

    Ventured back to the Orlando area for the Track Shack 2023 Winter Park 10k.

    This was my 5th time toeing the start line for the race but the first time I did not enter with a set finish time in mind.  I spent the past 4 weeks recovering from Piriformis Syndrome and my training was limited prior to the race.  Yes, this sounds like an excuse, but I was excited to race pain free again.  Decided this race would be my test to determine how well I recovered and make a final decision on the 2023 Nashville Rock N Roll Half Marathon in April.  Pain in this race would have eliminated me from traveling to Nashville to tackle the hills up there.

    Made my way to Track Shack on Friday before the 10k to pick up my race packet and do some shopping.  I’m always looking to get new Track Shack gear and wanted to make sure I had time to check out the new selections and colors.  It appears a lot of runners had the same idea—the line was out the door when I arrived.  This is the first time I’ve experienced a long line at Track Shack, but this was an indication race capacity was full this year.

    I didn’t do a major carb load process for the 10k but made my way to the UCF Buffalo Wild Wings to indulge in wings, potato wedges and beer.  This is the meal I leveraged to launch me into the 10k.  Made sure to get to bed early so I could make my way over to Winter Park with enough time to warm up, stretch and test out my legs prior to race time.  I wanted to get a two-mile warm up before the race to ensure I was ready to complete the 6.2 miles with minimum leg issues.  There’s a lot of activity around the Winter Park race village—vendors, runners and the Saturday Farmers Market are all in the same area.  Great place to watch people.

    Made my way to the 10-minute per mile section of the starting corral.  I didn’t want to be too close to the front because my competitive nature would have taken over and I would have pressed the pace.  Figured limiting my starting position would keep me from going out too fast and possibly aggravating my leg again. 

    The race was crowded, and the first mile was slow not necessarily by choice but because there were so many runners.  This worked in my favor since I couldn’t go fast even if I wanted too at this point of the race.

    The runners started to thin out a bit around mile 2 and again after mile 3.  I did not experience any pain through this point of the race and settled into a nice clip and started to enjoy the process of racing again.  I leveraged a couple of runners for pacing to help me keep a consistent pace through the middle portion of the race.  Mentally processed the concept of speeding up but decided to just enjoy the course, great weather and being around other runners.  There was no need to push the pace or myself at this point and didn’t want to create a situation where the piriformis became irritated.

    I increased my cadence at mile 6 when we made our way back onto Park Avenue.  There were a ton of spectators at this juncture, and I pressed the pace a bit to see what I had available for the end of the race.  I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face and no pain in my legs.

    Finished in 1:02:39 and made my way over to the race village to get my beer and take a few pictures while there.  Got a chance to catch up with a few runners I know from the Track Shack circuit and did some light shopping at the Farmers Market.

    Happy with my performance and not aggravating my running injury.  Looks like I’m clear to travel to Nashville and tackle the Music City hills.

    Of course, I will get in some line dancing and country music while I’m there.  😊

    Irie!

  • Running and enjoying the Winter Park 10k

    10k2

    “Life is short…running makes it seem longer”.

    (Baron Hansen)

    Decided to test my fitness again by running the Winter Park 10k with Orlando Track Shack.  It should be obvious Track Shack is my favorite running organization but will go ahead and say it again—I love Track Shack and the way they put on racing events.

    The 2021 Winter Park 10k was the last event in the Track Shack running series.  I was a regular Track Shack Fanatic when I lived in Oviedo but only get to participate in a couple events now. The Track Shack running series consists of 6 scheduled races over an 8-month period which ends with the Winter Park 10k event.  You do not have to be a Fanatic to run the Winter Park race, so I made a point to sign up again this year to test myself against the best runners in Central Florida.

    My 10k goal continues to be to run faster than my tree branch, Lauren Kume and eventually beat her 10k Personal Record (PR).  A quick note, I did not beat her time but was able to shave a substantial amount off my PR and set a new one in 2021.  Lauren still has the best time in the family! 😊

    Made my way over to Track Shack on Friday afternoon to pick up my race packet and get some last-minute shopping in.  I love making it into the Track Shack store to see the new running gear they have.  I did not need anything specific but always seem to come out of the store with something new.  I try not to run with the same outfit two races in a row, so I am always looking for additional color schemes for my run outfits.

    I found a new Track Shack running tank top that caught my eye due to the unique color.  Unfortunately, they did not have my size on the rack.  Betsy Hughes who is the co-owner with her husband Jon helped me as I was shopping in the store.  Small world fact—I met Betsy two years earlier while I was out for a run in Tom Brown park in Tallahassee.  One of their daughters lives in Tallahassee and Betsy and Jon were up for a visit.  I noticed her Track Shack gear and stopped my run to say hello.  Fast forward two years and Betsy remembered me from our quick conversation on a running trail in Tallahassee.  Betsy brought Jon over and we got a chance to talk about the great running trails Tallahassee has to offer.  Great time catching up with them both—they wished me luck for the race, and I thanked them for being so awesome! 😊

    Race day was a comfortable 58 degrees—perfect weather for a run through the Winter Park neighborhoods.  Made sure I got there early to make sure I could find parking and get to the start line on-time.  COVID-19 has adjusted how races are run so there was not as much activity prior to the race as in the past.  There were vendors available but just not as much traffic.  We followed Track Shack protocols, and everyone wore their face masks as we waited for the start of the race. 

    Race time

    The starting area was organized to ensure we maintained physical distance prior to the race. 

    The corrals were marked to ensure runners knew how to line up—there were dots placed on the ground to ensure we stayed a safe distance from the other runners.  Runners were able to line up based on their projected mile per minute time (example:  6 minutes, 8 minutes, etc.).  I decided to line up with the 8 minute per mile group to avoid having to navigate through a crowd of runners at the beginning of the race.

    Happy to report I was able to get out without having to adjust my pace to make it through the initial traffic.  I set out to establish a fast but comfortable pace and then see how I felt at the halfway point.  Luckily, the runners in my immediate area set a good pace and I decided to hang with them to see how much my conditioning had improved since my last big race which was the OUC Half Marathon in December.

    Mile 1:  8:35 / Mile 2:  8:54 / Mile 3:  9:12 / Mile 4: 9:18 / Mile 5:  9:16 / Mile 6:  9:18 / Last .2 / 1:27

    I was happy to get in the sub 9-minute miles at the beginning of the race.  My goal was to clock as many sub 9-minute miles as possible and then hang on to my form to get me to the finish line.  Felt comfortable from start to finish this year.  There was a steep incline in the middle of Mile 3 so had to adjust my stride to ensure I did not lose much momentum going up.  I broke my sub 9-minute streak here but felt good once I made it to the top.  Made up a few seconds on the descent but not enough to keep me under 9 minutes for Mile 3.  Took advantage of the first water stop just before the Mile 4 marker—new COVID protocols do not allow open containers so we were provided sealed bottled water during the race.  I got back to running comfortably after the water stop and decided to see how much I had left in the tank.  Happy to see my times did not drop off as I got deeper into the race.  I knew at the Mile 5 marker I would not beat Lauren’s time but had a good race going and a new PR was within reach. 

    Crossed the finish line strong with a new PR of 55:57. Erased close to a minute off my 2020 10k time. 

    I am happy with my race results and conditioning at this point of the year.  Will look to incorporate speed training to increase my endurance and help keep and maintain my pace for the next race.  I am not projected to run another race until the OUC Half Marathon in December.  Track Shack has a 5k scheduled in Winter Park in April—thinking about coming back to the Orlando area and run that one.  The course is flat and may set-up for another PR for me to lower my 5k time—we will see how it goes. 

    FYI—I added Tart Cherry juice to my prerace routine and believe it helped my performance from start to finish.  I did not experience a lactic acid build up during the race or soreness after. 

    Give it a try:  https://cheribundi.com/

    “I chose running as my therapy”.

    (Dean Karnazes)