Race report to come. Computer tied up with April all day....
So
I did some light running out into the course and it felt okay. Not
great by any means. I should have warmed up a little more, but I was
anxious. I looked around. This was oddly familiar. Dark dreary skies,
puddles, I just wait for the downpour of rain. But before I knew it
they were saying their words and getting ready for the start. I took a
stance, left foot out in front of the right and my knees slightly bent.
I looked down, then over at the guy with the gun. When he raised it, I
looked out. Bam, and there we go flying up the first hill. Little did I
know how much I would regret that first mile.
We are going fast,
but I was feeling pretty good. I had no idea what our time was. Up a
hill and my legs are turning over, down another hill and then out on a
loop down to the river. I'm watching people ahead of me, and I can see
Michael Wardian- the guy who ran out in front of the likes of Ryan
Hall, Brian Sell, and Ritz for the first miles of the Olympic Trials. I
had saw him in warmup and almost talked to him, then I didn't worry
about it. Mile one marker ahead- 25,26,27,28......WHAT 28 I thought. It
was 6. Ahhhh. For all holiness again with a fast first mile (for me). I
wanted to go out in 6:50, then decrease pace. Oh well I thought, everyone
else out in front of me will die. But the damage was done. My legs began to turn into burning vessels of pain and before you know it I'm
struggling just to run at any pace, let alone comfortably. I can
attribute some of this to the hill sprints wednesday- but it was just
faster than I had trained. I normally start off slow, then increase;
and this was the exact opposite. I truly believe this first mile cost
me a minute or possibly more in terms of time.
So I just gutted
out the first 5 miles. Up hills just kept on coming, and even at 3
miles, the hills were tough. Little hills, big hills, long hills, you
name it and there were hills. At 6 miles I FINally started feeling
somewhat under control. The pace had drifted slightly and there were
lots of downhills that I could coast on. I always excel here because of
the downhills I trained on- I always got faster after them and so it
was today. At 6 miles I see the 10k timer and it reads just under 42
minutes. Good- but not anywhere near the 40 I had envinsioned. So I
doubled it- I could run next 6 miles just as fast as the first-That
puts me at 84 with a mile to go, meaning I would have to kill the last
mile to make it. And so right then I knew the race was still on.
Mile
7. Good old mile 7. This is where the dreaded hill of death is. The one
I walked last year. I see a curly hair guy I've had my sights on for 2
miles and I track him. Halfway up the first hill I'm within yards, and
by the second hill I've passed him at the top. He's breathing hard, I'm
not, but my legs are screaming for mercy. I can feel my left quad just
pulsing and wanting to rip apart, calves aren't much better but it's
the whole leg, from the ankle up. My right foot is numb. The turf toe
shows its head again and the thing is lifeless and hurts on impact.
Stupid turf toe. I ignore it and think about the next 3 miles. They
will have to be fast- this is the flat part of the course. Another hill
ahead, two more hills, a steep hill, and then some rolling hills. I'm
flying with three guys. They pass me, I pass them. I'm stronger and
smoother than them, but my legs are destroyed. 10 miles. 3 more to go.
The
next mile I track down 3 guys I see ahead and soon enough pass two of
them- the third I would never catch. I follow him up the next series of
hills at mile 11- where I believe I walked for a few steps last year. I
stayed smooth but I'm pretty much spent- just running on guts at this
point. I know there is only two miles left, but I can't go any faster-
or at least my legs tell me that. Stupid legs why are you so
unprepared! I000 miles and still you don't cooperate. I see the 12 mile
mark. Two guys are ahead of me and I go for them, down we go, almost
there. I think I can catch them. I prepare to turn right to head
towards the stadium- but we don't, we go straight. Right into a huge
friggin hill. For pete's sake another friggin hill right at the end.
And it's not small, it's long and steep. Little did I know the stadium
is right at the top (we didn't run this route two weeks ago as I was with full marathoners). I struggle to catch the two guys, but I can't, I
can but my body says no. I get inside the stadium and see 1:30, I book
it, but it's too late as I have only 50 yards. I just try to finish
with the best time possible.
Sub 1:30 evades me by 27 seconds. I
think if I had just started off slower I would have worked my way into
a good pace, then been able to really kick the last few miles. But
thats what I would have done, and not how it went down. Thats the kind
of things you learn. Or least should have learned because it happened
last year too. But last year was a beginners mistake, this year I
should have known better. I am happy with the race this year. I made huge improvements and the best part is I still felt out of shape, haha. That means theres room for huge improvements again next year. I basically started training in mid-October, so if I continue to be consistent I'm sure I can make it happen.
average 6:54, improved 1:35 from last year
total time 1:30:26, improved 20:27 from last year On a side note I played basketball at church after all this. I took a nap afterward, got up and went to play in our tournament. I willed my team almost to victory scoring 35 points with 8 three pointers, 6 rebounds, numerous steals and assists..not a bad day for a 5'8" guy. We lost by 6 points 68-74. It was almost as awesome as this mornings race, considering I did run a hard race right before playing. I hope the guys continue to play as it fun to get together on Sundays.
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