I made it to the race and got to run this week. It was at 6:30 pm on Saturday night. I generally like evening races because, as it is well known, I am NOT a morning person. This Saturday though I had to work at 6:30 am, meaning I had to get up at 4:30 am to go to work. Ughhh...
Work was relatively OK. I didn't get killed but it wasn't a cakewalk either. Left Bloomington by 3:15 pm... then took 2 freakin' hours to get to Columbus! I have never seen traffic that bad on 46. By race time I just wanted a nap.
I went into the race thinking that I might be able to pull off a 7:30 pace (what the hell was I thinking?!) or at least run under 25:00. My body did not want to cooperate. My left hamstring pulled a little on the warm up. Made me a bit concerned but then I ignored it.
Mile 1 - 7:36
... not too bad but my right hamstring started pulling... like alot
Mile 2 - 8:19
... at about 1.5 miles some guy yelled "you're in 7th!" All I remember thinking was "I don't care, I just want this race to be over!" I was pretty miserable by then.
Mile 3 - 8:43
... I totally tanked. My legs felt like heavy blocks of wood and I felt like I had no energy. I just wanted to be done.
Last 0.1 - 0:55
Official time - 25:33 (8:13 pace)
Ended up 8th in the women's race and won my age group but was disappointed overall. I actually felt nauseous after I got done. I don't know if I was just tired from working all day or if it was a fueling issue - however, it was only 3.1 miles! I don't think it could really have been a fueling issue however I did feel 100% better after I drinking a carton of chocolate milk and downing a banana after the race. Who knows... this was just not my night. I keep telling myself I ran 22:50 just over 6 months ago. My time will come down again (sigh)!
Best part of the night was hanging out with my Crossroads runner friends. Wish I could run with them more often. Jane passed me at the 2 mile mark and won the 40-44 age group. Magda passed me around 2.5 miles and finished 2nd in the 50-54 age group (yeah, I got my beat by a 13 year old that won the race and three women in their 50's that finished ahead of me.) Nora Jo finished right behind me and won the 55-59 age group. I'm reading a great sports psychology book (more to come on this later) that talks about running with the competition rather than against the competition. I really enjoy running with these gals!
Jane, me, and Nora Jo
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