First race back after two months of base building. I was pretty nervous and feeling kind of rusty going into this race but I was also excited to see where my fitness was at. Walter offered to pace me and I jumped at the opportunity. We met up at about 9am (11 degrees out) and did a 3.5 mile warm up. I felt good during the warm up and was thankful to literally "warm up". It was freezing.
I noticed Quite a few quick girls at the start and just decided I wanted to run my own race and not get caught up in any competition. The race started right at 10am and we were off. I ran this course last year and remembered the 2nd half was hilly, however I did not realize it was quite as hilly as it actually ended up being. I left my garmin in my parents jeep after the race but this is off of memory and I think pretty close. (I am somewhat ocd about memorizing paces.)
Mile 1: 6:34 I realized this was too fast as soon as I hit it but I felt great. I told Walter we should probably slow it down a bit and he agreed.
Mile 2: 6:35 Walter and I chatted the entire time just like a jog in the park. Breathing was great, legs felt great, everything was just clicking. Again I felt it was too fast but it was mostly gradual downhill so I was okay with it.
Mile 3: 6:44 Still felt pretty good. At this point there was a girl about 50 yards in front of me (Rebecca) and I wanted to try and keep her in sight. She looked strong but I was still feeling pretty good. Walter was keeping me entertained with his talk about surging and strategy. I may not have been responding but I was definitely soaking it all in.
Mile 4: 7:18 This mile is the turn around point back up to the theatre and it is all up hill. It was tough and I just tried to focus and keep my arms pumping. First place girl still in sight (I had no idea she was 1st place, I was thinking more like 3rd or something at the time).
Mile 5: 7:35 More hills. I could not get my breathing under control and I completely lost my legs. We also had a nice headwind to add insult to injury during the last 3 miles. I was so frustrated and trying so hard but I was fading.
Mile 6: 7:09 The first half of this mile was a very gradual uphill and then flat. I could not seem to recover from the hills and my breathing was completely out of control. I finally started to relax and pick things up the second half but it was just a little to late to make up much ground. There was also an incredibly icy patch in this mile for about 10 meters that really slowed my rythm. I wonder if anyone fell because it was pretty bad.
Mile 7: .06 6:27 Tried to swirve past 5kers and around cars and surged as best I could.
The course was pretty short and my watch measured 6.06/ 6:58 AP. I was really really frustrated with my performance and the way I crashed the 2nd half of the race. But on a positive note I cut 2 minutes off of my time from this course last year (44:02) and I placed 2nd overall female.
I still have lots of learning to do and I am excited to keep learning and getting smarter. There is always room to grow and I am determined to grow as a runner. I know I have more in me and I am excited to commit to the sport and keep working as hard as I can. A big thanks to everyone who has taken me under they're wings and mentored me on this blog. Words cannot even begin to describe how much I appreciate the support. Also a big thanks to Walter for not giving up on me and sticking with me the entire way.
Long report I am sorry!! | 