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| A great day for a run |
I hopped back on the race wagon on Saturday with the
Meteor 10K, my first race since the
Thunder Road Marathon in December. We all know how badly I got my ass kicked by that race. Let's move on.
I ran the Meteor 10K
three years ago, the half
two years ago, and now I was back for another crack at the 10K. I knew all of my previous 10K times were out of reach; my goal for this race was to run strong and enjoy the morning. What a morning it was! Clear, dry, and about 35 degrees at 7:30 when the Engineer and I arrived at the race venue for our 8:00 start.
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| Wearing the best Bondi band ever, courtesy of the Redhead. Now, if only I would stand up straight... |
The green and black insanity you see above was part of the awesome bag o' swag from the
Redhead, which I received the day before at the race expo.
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| Spike and I at the expo, representin' Boston and Grand Rapids |
After some hobnobbing with my fellow run-nerds, the Engineer and I slid into the crowd near the back of the pack. I was anticipating running 9:45-10:00 miles, an easy, comfortable pace, and so I was pleased when Garmy beeped for the first mile in 9:38. That would be the slowest mile of the race, as I subsequently managed 9:23, 9:15, 9:20, and 9:14 miles. With a mile and change left to run, I decided to pick up my speed a little and see if I could squeeze out a sub-9:00 mile.
The whole race had unfolded smoothly; I kept my breathing under control and felt relaxed and energetic. I crested the final hill and saw the turn to the finish about a quarter-mile away. I cruised down the slope, made the turn, and finished strong. A quick check of Garmy told me I had run 8:49 for mile 6. Official finish time: 57:36. That's more than 10 minutes off my best but I was pleased nontheless.
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| Heading for the finish |
I ran 5.5 miles Tuesday, 4 yesterday, and if the weather cooperates I'll run 3 after work today. The weekend holds 4 miles on Saturday and 9 on Sunday. I'll be in Ohio again for some family stuff, so I'm looking forward to a change of venue. Nine miles isn't enough to lure me to the Towpath Trail, but I'm sure I can string together something around the old neighborhood.
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6 comments:
I friggin' loved that you rocked that crazy looking Bondi Band for the race! LOL! I seriously should have included one in the Engineer's bag! Great job on the race girl, I am so proud of the progress you've been making with the running rebound and I know that soon running 9:45-10's are going to be your easy pace again. Keep it up!
It is always nice to get out for a race - even if you aren't trying to blaze the trail!
Good race. A nice way to revitalize the racing spirit and get back on the path.
We all know how badly I got my ass kicked by that race. Let's move on.
The other day I was pitching to Ian (so far, this sounds potentially gay, but I swear it's not; and Ian is my SON, so how could you think that!?) and he wanted me to pitch faster so he'd have practice hitting a fast ball. Problem is, as my speed increases, my accuracy diminishes.
You can see where this is going.
Anyroad, I hit him with a pitch (still NOT gay). In the leg.
And it hurt him but I still made him get back in the batter's box right away and take a few more pitches. (Fortunately, I did not hit him again.)
And so all of this was just the scenic route I took trying to get to my main point, that being the truism that ... when a race kicks yer ass, you gotta get right back out there and race ...
Uh ... 4 months later?
Still, the point is, you raced again. You got back on the horse.
Kudos!
And a nice time! I'd love to be able to run a 57:xx 10k and say it was TEN FUCKING MINUTES off my best time!
Kudos again.
Nice to have a negative split race, no? It's always pleasant when a run unfolds more positively than you expect. But, did you enjoy beer afterwards? Curiously, no mention of this.
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