Coach Sarah had this race distance on my training schedule. Some folks asked me why did she want me to do a 5K. I don't really know. What I do know is I do whatever Coach Sarah tells me to! But, if I had to fathom a guess, I'm thinking she wanted to do a little time trial to see what kind of speed I had. It's been awhile since I've gone all out, more than a year actually, so I'm guessing she was curious to see where I was and to see if the workouts she's been giving me are giving us the results we want. Makes sense in my head anyway!
So, after a restless night and an early wake up call, I inhaled my English muffin and peanut butter then rushed to make my beasties their breakfast and herded them out the door for their morning poo, (Yes. I just said poo. Get used to it, because my life's schedule seems to now revolve around when my dogs need to poop. My new tagline should read "a chronicle of mis-adventure within the world of running, triathlon.....and dog poo) and then was on my way to Charlotte.
I met up with some fantastic ladies I work with that happened to be doing this race as well, huddled around the outdoor space heaters to keep warm until the start. We took our time to line up. This was actually the first time that I had the nerve to line up closer to the front part of the crowd. We chit chatted about what we were going to try to do, laughed a lot and then...oh crap we're moving! So, off I went.
Since I had no idea of what kind of speed I had, I didn't know quite what to do as far as strategy. Well, let's be honest, I never have a strategy! But, a good friend and running guru suggested to hold an 8:00 pace for the first mile in which the first .5 mile was the course's only major incline. If I could do that then just try to hang in for the rest of the relatively flat course and take advantage of the down hill finish.
Yea..I think I can do that, Captain.
Mile 1: 7:45
What The Captain neglected to tell me was that there was another substantial incline at mile marker 1 for another .5!
Well Dammit.
Mile 2: 7:57
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| PRs for All! That's me on the left, Jennifer, Kim and Sarah! |
After mile 2 marker, The Captain's ears MUST have been ringing as I was doing my darndest to hang on and thankfully the course began to level out. Then I felt a descent.
Mile 3: 7:19
The Captain was however spot on about the downhill finish, and it did NOT disappoint!
The Last .10: 6:02
Not too shabby. I'm pleased and I think Coach Sarah is too!
PRs abound, but sadly no Cupid's arrows to be had :(
The Actual Results:
2/48 in Age Group
12/350 in Gender
49th overall out of 552 finishers.
I'll take it.
2 comments:
Sorry about omitting the part about that second hill -- it was smaller than the first one at least, right? And hey, you PRed in a major way, so ... WOOHOO! All good!
No worries, Captain! If I had known, I probably would have psyched myself out. It's because you all continuing to push me to be better, that I continue to be better. Just like yesterday's tempo!
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