« Itchy and Scratchy | Main | Running in the Rain »
August 07, 2005
Well Worth the Drive
This weekend has been so busy, Friday afternoon feels like it was five minutes ago. I had typed up an entry that covered half of the weekend, but I lost it somehow and I'm having a bad typing day, so this won't be as in detail as it had been.
Saturday
I got up early to run since that was the only time of day I had to do it. My plan was to run for 35 to 40 minutes, go to the gym and ride the bike for 20 minutes and lift. I ran the first 20 minutes at the back of the pack. I was running up closer to the front, but I didn't want to do anything stupid because I wanted to race well. I turned around and made the trip back in 17 minutes and then ran in to J. He's just coming off a knee issue, so I ran an easy 14 minutes with him. Instead of going to the gym, I ended up hanging out and talking to people. I decided to not go to the gym and lift at home. While I was lifting I heard what I thought was an explosion. I ran outside and could not find any fire, so I went back to my lifting. It turns out that it was the spring on my father's garage door that broke.
I got ready for the wedding and spoke to the RD. He was able to get me a room and gave me directions. The bride is late for everything, and her wedding was no exception. The actual ceremony started 45 minutes late. The meal was not served until 3:00 and I was planning on leaving around 3:30 and had not packed yet. I changed my plans again, and ate dinner at home and left late.
I made good time getting to the beach, about 90 minutes. I found the motel just fine and checked in. The RD said that he would have a packet for me at the desk, but there was not one. I wasn't sure if that was because the guy at the desk didn't speak English all that well. I went down to get the RD's phone number out of my car and he was downstairs with some of the other invited athletes and our packets. I filled out all the paperwork and he gave me directions for the morning. I went upstairs and went to bed.
Today
I didn't sleep all that well for two reasons. I was afraid that I would oversleep even though I had two alarms set. I have also trained myself to wake up instead of scratching in my sleep. They now think that it is poison sumac, not ivy. The itchiness is subsiding now that I have been taking more medicine. There was no reason to worry about oversleeping since I was up around 5, I tossed and turned until a few minutes until six and decided that it was time to get out of bed.
I got ready for the race and turned on the weather. As soon as I saw the forecast, I decided that my time goal was out the window. It was 72 degrees with 95 percent humidity. Yech. I tried to check out since check out was at 11, but there was nobody working. I got to the race OK, but I missed a few of the turns. I was early enough that it was not an issue. The RD gave me my number and shirt and I went off on my warm-up, the course.
I got back and was soaked. I changed my socks and put on my racing flats. I also put on my racing top, my long bra top. I wore my old, short one on Wednesday night and had not done laundry yet. I felt like I was wearing a winter coat with that dang thing on. They announced and introduced the elite runners before the start. Of course, I was the first one they introduced and did not know what to do, I felt like such the idiot. The race went off and I stuck to my plan.
Unlike the race on Wednesday, I had a plan for today. I was not going to go out too fast and die like I did. I went out much easier, in 6:14. I was actually panicing that I went out too slow, but I felt OK. I was in the lead, which surprised me. There were lots of guys in front of me, but I was picking them off. I reached the second mile at 12:26, so a 6:12. This was making me feel good, my pacing is coming back. I was picking off more guys. I ran as hard as I could to the finish, got outkicked by two guys, but finished in 19:24. The time is slowly getting back to where it should be. I also ran smart and even. Other people thought that times were about 30 seconds slow because it was so humid. I warmed down about another 3 miles to give me 9 miles for the morning.
I felt like an idiot again at the awards ceremony because I could not see the announcer or where the awards were, so it took me a long time to get up there. I even heard a joke about the only time she is fast is in the race. I won $300 and a necklace. The necklace is apparently worth a bit, but it is not my style. I love jewelry, but this is too big for my taste. I had to leave the awards before they were done so that I could shower and check out.
The only excitement involved in that was that the dryer in my room was broken. My fine thin hair dries quickly, but it dries flat. I went shopping afterwards since there are shops there that we don't have at home. I bought a pair of kid's Puma casual sneakers. The sales guy asked if I was shopping for my child because I was in the kid's section. Hey, I wear a 6 1/2, kids sneakers fit and they are half the price. I also got a sundress and cardigan. I left around 3 and made decent time home given the traffic.
OK, that is my busy weekend in a nutshell. Hope that everyone else had a great weekend!
Posted by Blondie at August 7, 2005 07:34 PM
Comments
Hey Blondie. Maybe your poison sumac scared away anyone who wanted to run near you :) I kid! Congratulations on a quick time and a smart race. And the prize sounds valuable whether or not it is to your taste! It sounds like an overall nice weekend.
Posted by: Audrey at August 7, 2005 09:40 PM
Yeah congratulations! Sounds like a great weekend!
Posted by: Nanda at August 8, 2005 12:19 PM
Great job! Congrats.
I also buy kids' shoes sometimes - it is sweet how much cheaper they are :)
Posted by: Barb at August 8, 2005 12:28 PM