 |
| I'm right behind that group of tiny runners in white and blue. |
I decided
that I would only look at my watch enough to see the mile splits. Other than that, I wanted to run by one feeling:
hard. By the end of the first mile when
I hit the lap button, I noticed my time.
7:00. (That’s my 800m repeat
pace, btw.) I faded a little bit on a
moderate climb back to the start/finish.
When I hit the second loop, the gentle downhill felt out of control, as
if at any moment, my legs would fly out from under me and I’d hit the
pavement. The broken pavement along 1st
street really didn’t help matters. Please don’t fall, I thought.
The second
mile was kind of a train wreck, in 7:24.
For most of that mile, under sunny skies, a dark cloud formed over my
head. It took everything within me to
keep going without a walk. Since I only
do mile and 800m repeats at those paces, my body begged for a recovery
400m. After all, that is what it usually
is given as a reward. Not today,
legs.
A few
friends walked the 5K with their families and cheered for me from the end of
their first lap as I completed my second.
It was at the place in my run that I needed it most. I was also passed by someone I
recognized. I pictured myself holding onto
a rope behind her. Glue yourself to Melanie, if she slows down, you can slow down, I
promise, I reasoned. Thankfully, she
never did. I rallied for the final mile,
finishing the remaining 1.1 miles in 7:52, a 7:05/mi pace.
Huffing and
puffing, gasping for breath, I crossed the finish line with a new PR. I so needed this race to go well. :)
 |
| Another floating Karen race photo. Even Left Arm looks like she's working hard! |
22:17.
7:11/mi.
Overall: 61/735
Female: 8/462
F19-29: 5/93
 |
| Matt looks calm and poised, oblivious to Tanya’s son, Connor closing in on him. |
Matt also
had a PR day.
He finished
in 18:15. 5:53/mi.
Overall:
13/735
Male: 12/273
M30-39: 3/59
All photos
courtesy of Y. Kim, SRRC.
9 comments:
Whoa, that matt is speedy. But you are catching up.
Nice job!! Way to keep on it and push through the dark cloud. Makes you stronger for holding on!! While I really loved the 5K I did, the blog post I wrote about it didn't expose the EXACT feelings I had at the end, which was that I pushed it so hard that I started to retch during the race. I almost threw up after the race and my lungs were burning really badly. I was not a pretty site. I don't think I spit enough during 5Ks and this is what I get. That and I'm a mouth breather. Yay, you still want to run with me?
I remember telling Tanya that it was fun watching her baby turn into a running beast. It is happening even faster than I thought, WOW!
Congrats! Those are fantastic times! Happy Thanksgiving!
I loved this race report. It was funny, honest and a little bit tough. Great read. And congrats on your PR (Matt, too)!! I love that you hit the first mile at your 800 interval pace. That gives me hope! Cheers and hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
AWESOME! You run the 5K like I do...go for it with both barrels blazing! Fun stuff!!!! You look pretty formidable :)
I like the pre race stategy..."my goal .... was to run like hell..". The community feel of the race is nice. Congratulations to you both.
Holy cow, you two are fast! Congrats!
Nice PR's for both you and Matt! I'm so glad you had a good race! Looks like training is really paying off. (Also, I didn't get a chance to comment, but congrats on your anniversary of kicking cancer's a$$. You're one tough chick.) :)
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