The weather was cold and windy, no snow this year, but sort of damp, so I went to my car to play with my phone, check my gear, and generally warm up. I also needed to come up with a goal for this year's race. Since I'm "coming back" I knew that going for a PR was just not in the cards, but that doesn't mean there's no goal. I just need different goals for the time being. I had such an amazing racing year in 2013, nearly every race was a PR - of 16 races, 10 were either PR or first-time running that distance or type of course (trail runs, etc). Perhaps by the end of this season I'll find another PR, but for the time being, I need goals that are not time-based. Since I've been struggling with endurance and taking "too many" or "too long" walk-breaks, I decided I wanted this to be a full-on run, with no breaks other than walking the water stop. This, at least, would be the way I ran all of my 5ks last year, not as fast, but the "rule" for last year was "NO STOPS during a 5k."
Just before the start time, I got out and ran a little to warm up, found some friends, and got our "first race of the season" selfies:
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| Mid-Race - check out my cool new warm-weather running tights! FLASHY! Makes me look faster, right? |
This is historically the first race of the season for most of us. I did run the Chilly Chili this year, but that's really more of a "fun run" than a race.
So, off we went - and I did make this my first "real" run of the year - with no walk breaks other than the water stop. That felt very good. It seems like most races I end up with some sort of mantra going through my head, and for this one, that ended up being: "Just be glad you have a body that will do this. I feel grateful for this body." I really focused in on knowing that I could run this full distance, even though I haven't run that long without a break in quite a while. I knew that I could and that I wanted to, and I wanted to appreciate that ability, regardless of pace.
"We are all striving to build our own confidence and self-esteem. This sport of ours can do and has done just that. "
Several minutes into the race, I felt my legs begin to loosen up, and really started to feel like I'd found my groove, the pace I could maintain for the 3-mile distance. I checked my Garmin and noted it was less than 8 minutes in. I made a point of NOT looking at the pace, just the time. With the cold temps I was surprised my body warmed up that quickly, to tell you the truth. From then on, I just focused on keeping that rhythm and staying in that groove. I didn't have my iPod, so no music, no dog... just me and my thoughts, and the run. The Effort.
Speaking of No Dog - before the race, several people asked "Where's Coty?" - I had forgotten to check whether they allowed dogs in this race or not, and left her at home. I've brought her to this race a couple of times, I think... and they noticed. Oh, that dog is such a great partner, and everyone loves her. I'm so glad to have her!
Race Encounters:
I have one funny thing to share with you about this race, and other than this, it was pretty uneventful... but I can't get this out of my head!
There was a woman, a fairly new (or maybe returning) runner, as I found out over the course, who was running just ahead of me at the start. We leap-frogged many times during the race and I noticed she was doing something that I used to do when I was trying to learn how to run: she would start running (SPRINTING may be a better term) and get ahead of me, but she'd run out of steam after just a few minutes and then walk, pretty slowly, to recover. She was ending up pretty well in line with my slower running pace, but I think she was more tired than I was. Wish I knew her name so I could see where she ended up... but if I remember correctly, I passed her for the last time with maybe a 1/2-mile to go and didn't see her again. It reminded me of the importance of pacing myself and all the great tips and tricks I learned in my first year with the running group in 2010.
But here's the thing that's funny: The course is on the neighborhood streets around the zoo so there were volunteers at each intersection keeping an eye on traffic and making sure we could run the course without interruption. Typically, I try to say something to most of the volunteers, or if I'm out of breath, just a wave and a smile at the least, but usually a "Thanks!" or "Thanks for being out here!" as I pass. This woman had a particular way of thanking each and EVERY volunteer. It was exactly the same, EVERY time. She would SCREAM at the top of her lungs:
"THANK YOU FOR KEEPING US SAFE!"
I recorded a "voice memo" to give you the idea, but I don't know if it will work... I'm not sure how to upload it to the blog...
It was driving. Me. CRAZY. She seemed very nice and it was a very thoughtful and I'm sure heartfelt gratitude... but the volume. When we passed one another, I could hear the music coming from the ear buds on her iPod, so I'm sure the volume was affected by that... Oh, and she periodically stopped dead in the street and danced, arms all akimbo and hips moving. She was having a blast, and running her own race. I don't want to make fun of her or diminish in any way, but... Seriously, it was interrupting my whole flow and it was really distracting for me. At one point I got the giggles and could hardly contain myself. If I wasn't so concerned with maintaining my pace and running the whole way without running out of gas and having to walk later, I would have sprinted for a few minutes just to get some distance from her.
Oh, and one other thing, through most of the race I was behind this woman - heavyset like me and wearing a really cool blue jacket which made her very visible in my sight line - and I wasn't really "trying" to catch up to or pass her, but toward the end of the race, I did catch up to her. I could see she was flagging a bit, and as I approached I said, "I've been behind you this whole time - don't slow down now!!" We ended up running the last bit together - a little less than half a mile I think. Turns out she is returning to running after several months recovering from a serious car accident, and she'd driven up from Decatur to participate in the race with some family members. This was her first race, post-accident. She, too, was feeling grateful for a body, imperfections and all, that has the strength and endurance to do this thing.
Race Results:
Past results for this race:
2013 35:49
2012 41:07
2011 44:59
Wow, look at that - yes, it was about 4 minutes slower than last year, but still 2 minutes better than 2012 and 5 minutes better than 2011. I think I can feel pretty darn good about that.
Post-race:
I had a weigh-in on that Sunday and was down a bit, but still no real movement on the scale. I did some research and decided to try increasing my calorie intake a bit - from 1,450 to about 1,600 - to see if that would shake things up at all and get my body back on track. I decided to let that sit for a few weeks and see how it settles. If I end up gaining several pounds... well, I guess that's probably not the solution.
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