So I guess running uninjured, in slightly cooler weather, having tapered, having WAY better mileage, distance and strength training under my belt has NO bearing on improving my time. Pulling up my splits after I got home I see that I actually hit my pace 2 out of those 10 fucking miles. It just wasn’t there…this seems to always be the case on race day. Do I choke? Do I psych myself out? WTF is it about a race that makes me incapable of running at paces that I know I am perfectly capable of? My time for 10 miles 1 week ago was 1 hour 42 minutes..and my official chip time for this year is 1 hour 46 minutes, 59 seconds….only beating my time last year…when I was injured..and everything was wrong....by MAYBE 30 seconds. TOTAL BULLSHIT. I would say that I’m swearing off racing..instead I say..FUCK YOU RACING…I WILL CONCUR YOU AND YOU WILL FUCKING LIKE IT. I am not one of those awesome bitches that discovered racing later in life and was like ‘wow..I’m fucking fast and awesome and can rock out an insane pace like I’ve run all my life.’ Hell no…I am an awesome bitch that found running later in life and have fought like a crazy mofo for every inch I’ve run. Who trains like crazy doing all the right things, that STILL isn’t fast and get out there every day and do it anyways. The only thing I ask is that on race day…for shits sake…let me run how I KNOW I can…that I’ve run before…because dammit..I work hard.
Anywhoo….wow..that feels better. Still with me? Here’s the recap.
Pre-race
Wonderful! Julie, Amy and Traci picked up Dom and me about 45 minutes till start time. We got a great parking place, the girls were stolked..and Dom was Dom. He was our camera man, race bag dude and inspiration. If you’re ever going to have kids, have a Dom…can’t beat him. We walked around, checked out the start line…hit the portapotties. I think the girls were surprised by how things looked at a real race…but I think they liked it. The 10 mile started 15 minutes before their race..so I left them and squeezed in towards the back. I felt good…that feeling would leave me pretty quickly…HA!
Race-
Even though I had just peed…..I needed to go by the end of mile one..and was already unhappy because I hadn’t hit my goal pace the first mile. It was heating up and there are NO bathrooms on the coarse…not sure why. I kept checking my Garmin because I felt like I was hitting my times..and was always surprised that I wasn’t..my breathing felt off. Mile 2 was one of the two miles that I did hit pace…that one takes you through the Racine Zoo and it was pretty….the Mountain Goats were jumping around and the lake was to my right and very beautiful. It’s funny how they warn you on the info sheets to leave the animals alone….I’ve always wondered if there were animal bothering incidents that lead to these warnings.
I caught up with my next door neighbor Mike around mile 5. I loved his comment about screwing the PR..that this race was now a death march. My sentiments exactly Mike. We backed and forthed for a couple miles until he finally ditched me around mile 7 and finished about 4 minutes ahead of me. I was so freakin happy to see the finish line I almost cried….just wanted the shit done. And although I didn’t see a one of them…that’s how out of it I was…my girls, Skip, my boys and Amy’s family that includes her husband Rod….another of my close long time friends…..were all there…screaming for me…so the race wasn’t a total wash. I finished…got my chip cut off…and the first one to greet me was Dom. As I walked away from the line I also saw one of my patients….a crazy little gangster looking dude in his late 40’s who I’ve become friendly with after finding his picture in the race pics from last year. Awesome to see him…mostly because he looks like the only thing he runs from is the law….but he’s fast as shit.
Got my beer, got my banana….hung out with the girls who were so happy with the race….and went home.
Official Times-4 Mile
Julie- 1:01:32
Traci- 57:29
Amy- 54:48
Official Times-10 Mile
Me- 1:46:59
Mike- 1:43:40
Crazy Gangsta Patient- 1:17:27…crazy right? This was his slowest year!
So that’s that…and here’s the pics. Next year this bitch is mine!
Dom and I at home.
Jules, Me, Amy and Traci.
Amy finishing...ignore the clock..that time is next to the 10 mile finish.
Traci finishing...look how happy this girl is!
Jules...SMAK...how bout dem apples?
And me...Skip wasn't quite at the finish...maybe wanted to get a pic before I collapsed?
Amy and I on our way to the beer booth.
Two fisted...this is Wisconsin folks.
Traci...who actually thanked me for making them do this.
Finding some shade...lil T, Skip, V, Traci and I.
Our camera man.
Traci, Amy, Julie and me. 3.1 to 4 Mile for them..success! Shitty 10 miler for me..success!!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Saturday!!
Love the two fisted beer pic! That is so me and my friends, LOL!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry that the race sucked so bad - I don't know why things turn out the wa they do, but I know you're gonna take this run and make it your bitch next year.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, you DID still beat your PR. Not as much as you wanted, but you still did it - and that, ultimately, is awesome.
Um can I just say that you sounded totally like me up there?? At least what I sound like in my head! I don't know if you consider me a late runner fast bitch, but this is the same sort of thing that goes on in my head whenever I hear about that one chick I mentioned in my bitchfest post awhile back. The one that started running in Dec and ran a May marathon in 2:06. And I was like what the eff??? And to give you some more perspective, she just did a regular 10K run (not a race) in 1:35. And I can tell you right now that there is no WAY she runs as often as you during the week OR works out as hardcore. Meanwhile, my best friend started up running again after a couple years and she said she did 3mi in 25 mins. Really?? WHY AM I A TURTLE?!?!
ReplyDeleteBUT!!!! it's thinking those kinds of things that got my mind all warped. And what brought me down and made me hate running for point two seconds. I like YOUR attitude better. It's not so much the runners you want to beat but the running itself. You're your own competition. And that's way healthier of an attitude than what I was going through.
At the end of the day you ran the race, you crossed the finish, and you have another notch on your belt. Your PR is just saved for another day...it's like Christmas, enjoy the anticipation? ;) And the day you DO get the PR will be THAT much sweeter!!
On a sidebar, the fact that you inspired the other ladies and brought them to an experience they probably never thought they'd go through is worth five hundred PRs!!!! Congrats to you and them...way way awesome!!!
*and by 10K I meant 10miles haha!!! ;)
ReplyDeleteHaha! I loved your ranting and raving :)
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you encouraged (or converted) some friends to run a race...you are awesome!
Fast or slow...at least you're running :)