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March 31, 2008
Luck of the Irish
It must have been the luck of my Irish ancestors that propelled me forward in this race! I am still surprised by the time and the top 5 finish . . . H. thought I would run + or - 15 seconds of 30 minutes; I thought H. was nuts to even consider 29:45. I thought I would be lucky to run 29:59. So when I crossed the line and saw 29:29 staring back at me, I didn't know what to think or how to react. Of course, H. was screaming for me around the final turn to kick it in - he knew where the clock stood at that moment.
I desperately tried to transform my stride into something close to a "sprint" but it wasn't enough to catch the 4th place woman . . . the top five women finished within 26 seconds of each other. It wasn't until mile 3 that I realized the pack of women about 15-20 seconds ahead of me was the lead pack.
The morning started like usual: the weather was slightly windy and completely cloudy, but the temperature anchored itself around 38 degrees; 38 degrees - sadly - felt comfortable and even balmy! It was warm enough to justify wearing a tank top and shorts. The upbeat mood at the start was contagious, but some negative chatter always invades the positive army of energy. I tend to be fairly chill and relaxed at the start of races - there are only so many elements that we can control on race day. The most important one is our mental energy.
The gun snapped at 9:30 and we were off. I was immediately surprised to feel good - really good. I didn't sound like an asthmatic - my breathing was in prefect rhythm with my stride and that rarely seems to happen. I never saw the first mile marker, but I heard it was somewhere between 5:35-5:40. To be honest, it certainly didn't feel that fast, and I never felt like I bonked as a result of the speedy start. In fact, up until 4.25, the entire race felt about as comfortable and effortless as racing can feel; I had been bracing myself to be in tremendous pain the entire time!
I hit the two mile around 11:25 - 11:30 . . . so I was definitely moving faster than I could possibly sustain. I pulled back the pace and came through 3 in 17:21. I hit the 5K in a new PR: 18:09. I strolled through 4 in 23:23 so I knew I was slowing down, but I was still feeling great.
As soon as we turned onto Michigan Avenue, a cordial wind slapped me in the face and I felt a sudden rush of fatigue crawl down my quads. Now I knew I just had to hang on for dear life. With a quarter mile to go, a woman passed me. I sped up and I almost caught her over the final hill, but as soon as she hit the downhill and the final straightaway to the finish, she was spinning her wheels just a tad faster than I could spin mine.
I tried so hard to roll up the pack in front of me throughout the race, but I .just couldn't do it. Part of me needs to get used to finding myself in a good position in these races; I always catch myself feeling so surprised. And part of me needs to be more aggressive. B. pointed out that almost every single race I enter, I end up running completely solo and usually in between two packs of runners. I definitely could have used pack tactics to keep me from single-handedly boxing with the wind for 5 miles. The woman who passed me ran between 2 guys until the 4th mile, when she made her move to dust me :(
Overall, I am excited. I have continued to take my rest day every week and log between 50-60 miles. H. is upping the mileage this month so things should get interesting!
Posted by bridget at March 31, 2008 8:35 AM
Comments
Great race Bridget!! Congrats on a new PR and a great big improvement over last year! Scary considering how well you ran last year too! Hope your recovery goes well!
Posted by: Beth at March 31, 2008 12:57 PM
bridget!!! congratulations!! MAN im proud of you:)
Posted by: katie at April 1, 2008 5:22 PM
...women have the Power...
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at April 1, 2008 5:32 PM
Go Bridget Go!! Your finish was the best part of St Patrick's Day!!
Posted by: Patrick at April 13, 2008 8:44 PM