Monday, February 2, 2009

Super 5K 2009

At the start of the race. I'm in my stealth bomber outfit again.

It's only February 2 and already my goal of running at least one race every month this year has been TOTALLY DERAILED. I might as well just give up now.

(kidding)

I got home from work Friday afternoon and crawled into bed, from which I did not stir (minus a couple of bathroom breaks) until 4:00 Saturday afternoon. Doing so meant I also did not make it to the Frozen Blueberry 5K in Montrose, a race in which I would have won my age group (my AG winner ran a 29:19).

There went my one shot at doing a race in January.

Needless to say, I did not have high expectations for the Super 5K in Novi on Sunday. I didn't eat anything (cold medicine doesn't count) from lunch Friday until dinner Saturday1), so my energy reserves were low. My head was still full of snot and I was tired. Nonetheless, I had already registered for the race, so the thought of letting my entry fee go to waste was enough to get me up and out the door by 7:40 am yesterday for the 9:00 start time.

The race was even more crowded than last year's version. Somehow I managed to get an age group award last year with the slowish time of 26:06, and I knew I could better that, but I suspected the increase in numbers and my transition to a new age group might make it more difficult this year. I decided to pay closer attention to my body than usual, not make it do anything it couldn't handle, and see where that led me.

After an extremely slow and crowded start, I settled into what I felt was a smooth groove and let the pavement slide past. I reached mile 1 in 7:36, mile 2 in 7:39, and slowed substantially for mile 3, which was an all-uphill grind (8:15). I crossed the finish mat with a Garmy time of 24:13, which was much better than last year and better than I was expecting considering my physical state. I was breathing hard and coughing spastically from the cold, dry air. I waited around for the awards ceremony, but this year I was not one of the lucky ones. In retrospect, I am not disappointed, because the AG awards this year were the same as they were last year (a wool hat). I don't need two of the same thing (unless they are Smartwool socks or Nike Dri-Fit base layers, in which case, the more the better).

After the race, my running buddy and I headed over to Kensington Metropark to put in some additional mileage. I had 8 miles on my schedule for Sunday, and I was anxious to put in at least some of the miles I was supposed to over the weekend, having totally missed my 6-mile pace run on Saturday. We did an easy 5 miles, and by the end I was seriously dragging. The previous few days were fast catching up with me and I could tell my fuel tank was nearly empty. As soon as I got home I cleaned up and then crawled back into bed for yet another nap.

Mondays are my cross-training days, so today I spent a leisurely half-hour on the recumbent bike reading Us Weekly followed by some core strengthening exercises.

In other news, today, February 2, Groundhog Day, is the day I had surgery two years ago, the surgery that changed my life forever. Happy Anniversary to me! Here's to two of the best years of my life, and many more to come!

Super 5K, February 1, 2009
Chip time: 24:14 (7:48 pace)
7/79 W 35-39
57th woman
287th overall

1: The first thing I put in my stomach after my self-imposed fast was a Lagunitas IPA. It was superb.

8 comments:

jen said...

Congrats on the race! And congrats on having an amazing two years since your surgery. Hope your cold goes away for good soon.

chia said...

Great timing on the race. This winter has proven to be the driest air ever it seems, brilliant respiratory showing!

Lagunitas? Seriously, I'm a beer bigot towards that shizz. None of it ever tastes good to me since trying that copper thing they put out. Maybe I should give it another "go." ;-).

Unknown said...

how was the path @ kensington? I need to get some miles in this upcoming weekend?

Spike said...

Great race, especially after being so sick for 36 hours. Plus, you rocked your time from last year. As for the AG award, if you are not going to give away a medal, give away something different each time--and never coffee mugs. Ever!

Sun Runner said...

The path at Kensington was the usual winter deal-- clear for about 5 miles starting from the first parking lot past the Kent Lake Rd entrance (off I-96). It was down to bare pavement when I was there.

joyRuN said...

24:14 is great time! Congrats, especially on pulling that off with the sickness.

tfh said...

Hmm.

Maybe I need to add cold medicine to my list of pre-race fuel...

Hey, it sounds like it worked for you!

Happy surgery anniversary.

Nitmos said...

Nice job!