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April 23, 2006
Working Weekend
If you have to work on a weekend in the spring, you should hope for a weekend like we had this weekend. Yesterday was practically a monsoon, so having to work wasn't too bad. Of course, today it cleared up by the time I got into the office. As much as I may moan and groan about working on the weekend, it kept me from spending money and my bank account will thank me for it in the end.
So, yesterday morning I didn't get to sleep in as late as I would have liked. There was only a short run on tap since I was getting ready to race today. I had a christening to go to, so I had to be home and showered so that I could go to the service. It wasn't raining too hard in the morning, kind of a light misty kind of rain, but I was still soaked when I got back. I purposely ran very easy, but that wasn't too hard since I went out the door all of 15 minutes after getting out of bed.
This morning I had to get up relatively early to go to my race. It was still misty when I left and rained some on the drive up to the city. The race actually didn't start until later in the morning, but I knew that parking could be an issue. I figured it would be better to get there early and be able to park than to be late and not be able to find a spot. Besides, I had to get money and buy gas before leaving. I ended up getting up way earlier than necessary, about two hours, so I spent a great deal of time sitting in my car to stay warm and dry. It turns out that the races were starting later since there was another race going on that utilized the same road for a portion of the race.
I warmed up for just over 2 miles and felt pretty decent. J had called me earlier in the week to give me what he thought I should run. His plan was to run even 6:10s, which sounded perfectly reasonable. This was negotiable, after four miles-I was allowed to really push it if I felt good and was on pace. I secretly was hoping to run under 38 minutes again, something that I haven't done in two and a half years. I normally don't take splits in a race, especially if the course is exceptionally hilly. Today's course is basically flat, a few slight rolls, but nothing that could really be considered a hill. It is just a straight out and back, which is kind of difficult mentally to know that you are just going in a straight line in each direction.
Anyhow...I tried to stick to the plan as much as I could. Of course there were lots of people who went out fast, something that I am usually guilty of. This always makes me nervous, but I did make my way up to where I should be around the mile mark. I went through the mile in 6:09, hit two miles in 6:12, and three miles at 6:22. During this point there was a boy who was running in front of me that every time I came up to pass him, he would sprint. It was pretty annoying, but after the fourth time, his sprints were getting shorter and shorter. At the cone to turn around, I passed him for good. I tried to get back on pace in the fourth mile, another 6:12. If there was a five mile mark, I missed it, and the same for six. The last 2.2 were 13:53, which works out to an average of 6:18, so probably another 6:12 and 6:22. My final time was 38:49, well short of what I secretly wished to run.
This is almost the same exact time I ran in October, at the beginning of my fall racing campaign. If I look at it logically, it isn't as bad as I'm making it out to be. This is only my third race of the season and I did not go in on rested legs. I think that I need to stop being hard on myself about racing. I was all alone after passing the kid this morning. It is progress that I'm running 6:10-15 when I'm alone in a race than the 6:25-30 I used to do.
Of course, I got a little bit lost on my way home, but not as lost as I have been before. The rest of the afternoon was spent at work. Even after working two afternoons this weekend, we aren't finished with the task at hand. I didn't mind being at work that much since the prodigal son came home this afternoon.
I've got to give a shout out to C, my host from my trip to England, who ran a 2:48 in London today. It is great that Deena won and broke 2:20, but I was honestly a lot more interested in the people who I knew personally. B ran an awesome 4:09, absolutely terrific for her age. C was thrilled with his performance and I'm inspired by it as well.
Posted by Blondie at April 23, 2006 09:03 PM
Comments
It makes me feel a lot better to get to races too early too. I hate being rushed. Nice race Blondie. Thanks for sharing your goal with us. It helps us understand your race and mindset during it. Enjoy your week!
Posted by: Audrey at April 24, 2006 08:16 AM
Great race! Sounds like your splits were really even! Hope you have a great recovery.
Posted by: Beth at April 24, 2006 07:53 PM