Cold to Welcome Wet - a new PR!

The cold finally broke. Looking out at the garden, I realize we have lost a couple of hebes. When the call came out to protect plants, i honestly couldn't think of any which needed to be protected. Oops.

We had a pretty good morning of black ice too. So bad that I slipped and fell pretty hard on the way to work earlier in the week. Ouch! My wrist, forearm and upper back and shoulder were all sore for a couple of days. That coupled with a good but hard tempo run meant that I had a run on Thursday which was terrible. Everything felt achy and twingy and I was tired and sore. it's been really busy and stressful at work as well. So much to do with work and holiday planning.

the next race for the Winter Grand Prix Winter Series was this morning. I had a fairly disappointing race with the first race two weeks ago but knew I had a faster run in me. But today? After such a tiring week?

At least the weather was about perfect. 45 and drizzly. I brought my hat to wear if it was raining but I never needed it. The course was bit messy in places with some puddles and slop but no ice!

I had forgotten my bib. D'oh! I had to re-register and they were going to charge me a whole $1 fee. However, i didn't have any money on me so I told them I owed them. I love these little, casual races. It took a bit longer to get re-registered so I didn't have quite enough time to get in a full warm-up. I wasn't too worried though since it was so much warmer and I still wasn't sure how I'd feel.

I was surprised to see they had heavy machinery on the xc course. I wonder what they are working on? It did affect the road course a bit so there was a change but it was for the better I think. Usually we would start to the south and there was always a bit of a bottleneck in the first quarter mile as we made the turn to go north. This time we started to the south and there were no such issues.

MJ found me in the line up before we started (RPD DNS'd as he was sick). She admired my Fast Shoes I was wearing. Fast Shoes? yep, I did finally get a pair of racing flats a couple of months ago. I've been wearing them just on occasion for speedwork. I thought this race would be good for their racing debut.

And we were off! I got out to a pretty quick start but reigned it in quick and just settled down watching PN ahead of me. I knew she'd get a steady start and she is easy to spot in the crowd as she's in her 60's! About a half mile in, MJ passed me as I expected. It was nice to see that she wasn't bolting past me quite as quickly as she had last time.

I checked pace again about three quarters of the mile in and was surprised to see sub-7. I honestly had been expecting to race this at around 7:05 pace. Would I be able to hold it? And then the reminder to myself of don't think, just run.

And I did. At .8, we made the turn to go back to the north and I could feel the breeze just a bit. I started reminding myself "strong" and "relaxed." And what did that mean for me?

Strong as in a strong arm drive and a strong focus. Normally at this point in a race (the middle), my focus is wavering a bit and I'm slowing. Relaxed. Keep the shoulders down and breathe.

And it worked. I hit the first mile and heard the caller say 7:02 which is gun time. I hadn't really expected to run a 7:00 flat first mile but there it was. And I was feeling good. My fast shoes were feeling fast, my breathing was good and I felt calm and focused. I maintained the pace and made the turn again to the south. I had started passing people gradually. And as I did, I realized that my breathing compared to theirs was often more relaxed and not as labored. That gave me confidence to continue pushing.

As I hit around 1.6, I pulled even to a high school girl (#42). She did not at all want me to pass and we stuck side by side through the rest of south road and through the turn. With a quarter to go and the finish in sight, I muttered to the kid "ok, go! pull me in." She TOOK OFF!

It was awesome! 41 year old legs who've been doing distance training don't have quite that kick (ummm... at all). As I watched her pull away in amazement I knew I couldn't even keep up but I'd still at least pass the guy ahead of me. I just made it and I was done. Last race, I was barely able to breathe and was feeling just awful the last bit but this time was so much better. I had a bare smidge of a kick, legs felt strong and could breathe. Wow!

I found #42 and just told her how awesome that had been. She also had a huge grin and was just as delighted with the race. Fun stuff! I got in line to turn in my ticket and that's when I looked at my watch to see what the final time had been.

13:55!

I couldn't believe it! I'd gotten faster the second mile. That is a huge PR at this distance for me. I ran last year without a watch 14:26 and the year before I'd done the course in 14:30. I did come under 14 (13:58) for the first time at the end of this series in February but that was on a track at the end of the series when I'd had the faster races in preparation. So this is a pretty big deal for me and I'm just delighted.

The cold and the smoggy dry air really did a number on me the last race. This race, I felt so much better and having had a couple harder efforts also helped this morning. It has been a while since I've raced. Mentally, this went so well and I know that's been part of my difficulties lately. It is something that I will continue to work on for sure. I know I can apply it to longer races.

and then I got home and found an interesting link:


garmin connect track: click here