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April 22, 2007
Best personal worst ever!
This could be a fluke, but I'm really psyched to report that I felt *good*--almost great at times--during my ten miler today! I definitely felt my hamstring tighten up a bit around the 7 mile mark, but I reminded myself to pick up my knees and it got better. The back of my knee was a little sore at the end, but definitely amazingly okay for an effort a bit harder than my usual long run. I am going to reward my legs for a job well done with a cross-training session tomorrow (instead of a run).
I left the house a little bit after 6 this morning to head down to Alexandria. Emily called me to say she was there about 10 minutes after I left, and she could see the spots filling up around her so she had some ideas about where I could park. As soon as I had gotten there and parked, Camille called to say she was lost. We got her back on track, but we got in line for the buses without her just in case she didn't make it. The bus ride to the start felt like it took forever--the same psychological torture that you get with any point-to-point race. But we got there with plenty of time to wait in line for the bathrooms, stretch, etc. And Camille made it just in time.
The race organizers made special Virginia Tech rememberance bibs available for a $1 donation, so while we were waiting for the start, we saw tons of tributes, either to individuals or the whole group who lost their lives on Monday. It was really a nice touch--people wore them on their backs so they were visible throughout the race.
We started out pretty far back in the pack and there was no chip mat at the start, so I think I might have been off on my time by a bunch. But I decided to take mile splits so I would have some idea of how I was doing, since at this point I don't even know my pace. I wanted to run under 1:20 but I honestly didn't know if it was possible.
All of us agreed that we were going to start out pretty easy and then maybe make it a tempo-type effort if we felt good. Our first two miles were all together, and were rolling hills. (The course is beautiful; it follows the Potomac River from Mt. Vernon to Old Town, Alexandria.) The first mile was slow, over 8 minutes, but we were in traffic. The second one was about 35 seconds faster and I was a bit concerned because my legs already felt it. I decided to just maintain at the current pace even though Emily had gone ahead. My legs started to feel better and my body stronger at about mile 5. I realized I had gotten ahead of Camille and I could see Emily up ahead. I passed her at the water stop after 6 although she was never too far behind. The middle miles are flat and downhill and I was just doing 7:30s and it felt really easy. I promised myself I would just keep the pace until the 8th mile and then I could try to race a little. Unfortunately the 8th mile had a huge hill and I got discouraged when I saw a slow split. I tried as hard as I could to race the last mile, which was a straight shot down one street, but this is where I am lacking, having done no speed work for a year now.
I finished in about 1:16-something on my watch, 1:17 on the main clock, I think. So somewhere in between there. My slowest 10-mile time in a race by about 5 minutes, but I was smiling because I felt good! I immediately stretched my leg after I was done and while it was a bit tight, it wasn't as bad as it's been after other long runs, so I'll take it.
As humbling as it is to have slowed down so much, I'm trying to think of this as a starting point. If I continue to feel good, leg-wise, I will slowly add in some speedwork and hopefully be back on the track in time for the humid weather that I love so much. But we'll see.
After having brunch with Matt outside on our balcony and going grocery shopping, I proceeded to fall into a deep sleep for several hours on the couch. I guess waking up early and worrying about the run took more out of me than I thought!
Posted by becky at April 22, 2007 7:26 PM