Photo from Mount Royal, Frisco, Colorado.

"That is happiness; to be disolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep." - Willa Cather

Sunday 31 August 2008

5k win!

So I just gave away the result but, of course, the story is more important.

The Lions Club in our town put on a 5k race this morning. We found a sitter for The Lorax, so we ran sans baby jogger.

As we warmed up, SR began scoping out the female competition. He didn't say this out loud, but I know him well.

And at the starting line, many females were giving me rueful glances. I thought to myself "If any of these women are fast, I'm going down." Of course I've always dreamed of winning races, but when it comes down to it, I will always lose in a sprint finish.

And SR was kind enough to instruct me in front of everyone at the starting line: "Don't start out too fast!" I laughed.

I ran the first mile in 6:09. I guess that's too fast, since that's a mile PR for me. I was in the lead for the women, but there was a woman right on my tail, who I figured would run much more intelligently than me.

It was so cool to see SR running with two other guys, one of whom I know fairly well, battling it out in the front.

I'm not sure what the second mile split was, but I'm guessing it was just slightly slower than the first. I couldn't believe I was keeping it up and was still in the lead!

Shortly after the two mile mark, I figured I had the win, but kept peering over my shoulder. And then there was that turtle head again. And, in fact, what came out can't be described as a head at all. I won't go into any more nasty details. But I finished in 19:46 (according to the official results), shaving 32 second off my PR, won my first race (!) and ran to the bathroom to wash out my shorts.

SR won, too, with a time of 16:40. He may win nearly every race he enters, but he certainly has not stopped amazing me.

On the way home, SR commented that most people would have stopped running rather than have an accident in their shorts. I asked incredulously if he thought I should have given up the win for that. To which he replied "Hell no!" Sometimes it is scary how similar we are.

I will say that one thing I'm sure helped me run faster was forcing myself to run 3 minute half miles on the treadmill two days before the race. That's probably obvious to most of you track people out there, but I'm a newbie.

Oh, and I got the great news from my dad this morning that my mom has started running at age 57!

Hope you all enjoy Labor Day weekend!

8 comments:

SteveQ said...

Ummm, maybe you should change your pre-race ritual to avoid the problem... great race, nonetheless.

Allison Chapple said...

Nice race, although I don't think you can cram speed-training ;). I think your race success was due to overall fitness vs. your speed session earlier in the week.

Abbie said...

Seriously, your running inspires me. I feel though that I can no longer run injury free. I try to train for a 1/2 marathon and I strain my calf and am out for 2 weeks. So I decide to lighten my running load and just aim for a 10K and now I have come down with a heel spur. Seriously... do you think it's possible that some people's bodies just aren't meant to run? If so, I sadly think I'm one of them. Would intense stretching help? Just realized my comment is all about me... a bit selfish but you seem to know your stuff.

H said...

Congrats SeaLegs!

Meghan said...

Wow, busting through the 20 minute 5k barrier with gusto. To think what you could have done if your gut had been agreeing with you! Congrats on the win, the big PR, and breaking the 20 minute barrier. For women, that's a huge step. Bask in the glory, Sea Legs!

Meghan

Danni said...

Nice work!!! Yeah I wonder what you're eating that's giving you trouble :(

Lisa said...

Congratulations, Great Job!!!!! As for the poo....Poor Sealegs. :D If it makes you feel any better, a few weeks ago we went for Mexican (curse of death) and the next morning I did all as usual, coffee, poop, etc. In the exact middle of our run I told my neighbor I just may hit the nearby fields and poop, the urge is so bad. She said, "Oh, I have an extra doggie bag that Shadow did not use, you can have it." I told her thanks, but I think some awful loud gas would wake any nearby families. I ran home with my cheeks squeezed together will all my might. LOL! I was grateful I made it. Do you go before your races? I suspect you are primarily a late afternoon/evening runner? You gotta get into a poopin' routine in the a.m., Girl.....

Olga said...

You are the winner in the soul thus don't worry about things. Congrats!