Starting to turn around

Well, I said that I was going to mention what happened on my 10k the other day... well I'm too embarrased to even mention. Suffice it to say... it was a HOT day, and it was an out and back road race with not an ounce of shade!! The only shade was the water stations being a little "shady". LOL. I had a PR on this race, but for my slowest 10k EVER!!! This includes practice. Ran in over 49 minutes. I gave up after about 4 miles, it was just too hot!! No I didnt stop, but I just had nothing left. Maybe it had something to do with fueling... as I only had a bagel and that's it about 1.5 hours before the race.

I'm now at the point where I'm trying to assess my fitness. I ran a 3 mile XC race with the Hanson group last week. Didnt try anything spectacular. Cruised to a 21:24. Not blazing at all, but it wasn't meant to be. I did start off a little fast with a 6:25 first mile, but I coasted the rest of the way. It was VERY humid... I almost drowned from the humidity, and fighting off the mosquitoes was another issue. I swear, after the race, I took my shirt off and literally rang out about 16 ounces of sweat (disgusting I know). That high school girl running next to me actually beat me by a few seconds. That twurp behind me ate my dust.

So I THINK I'm going to do this full marathon thing now. I had many setbacks this year, but I think i'm getting back into the swing of things. Things are starting to turn around. I'm building up my confidence again. So, the 4th of July I run a 5k in Ann Arbor. I had NO intentions on placing in my age group. Those that know Ann Arbor know that EVERYBODY runs everyday all-day!! If you cant run a sub-6 minute per mile pace, then forget about placing. But low and behold, they had a clydesdale division. So I signed up in that group. This was not a speed test for me, it was a test to see if I could maintain pace. (Did I say that I'm starting to hate my Garmin???). I run the first mile, and my Garmin says 6:55. I'm like "great... perfect pace". I kept my same intensity for the rest of the race, and refused to look at the Garmin again. Around mile 2.5 I took a peek, and it said I was going 9:40 mile... I know for the life of me that was not accurate. There goes my trust in the Garmin. At that time, I think to myself... "a 5k is not supposed to feel comfortable". I was not huffing / puffing at all. Felt more like a moderate tempo run. I guess I was scared that I was going to die again!! So come the last 1/4 mile, I sprint it in. I passed like 4 people in that stretch. There was another clyde within stride of me the whole time. I was thinking "I know I started near the back... if I beat him, then that's one less threat". So now the race was on. I'm a strider, so for every three steps he took, I took two. He pushed me to the end, but I beat him. So, now I await the results. Official 1st mile 7:09 and finish time 22:08. That's a 7:08 per mile pace. PERFECT even split!! I accomplished that, but slower than I could have run. This was good enough to get me 3rd in the clyde division. I got a sleek looking lightweight Brooks running cap. One of those things that I wanted, but said I would never spend money on. So I'm happy overall. Now from here on out, its time to speed things up... I'm having a sub-20 goal for 2008 in the 5k.

I get home from the event... happy but disappointed that I left soooooo much on the track. So I decide to do a 4.5 mile tempo run, the heck with a recovery run!!! Did a 7:35 pace which is good considering the long hill and steep hill I have to endure, plus running in the street alone avoiding traffic. Sometimes I feel like Frogger on these roads. Once again, I did not feel tired, but had to go because we were going to visit friends for 4th dinner. Lastly, I attended a TRIATHALON training meeting... just to see what all of the hype is about. Hmmm... starting to sound interesting. I just cant fathom investing in a $2000 bike!! There is a local sprint tri coming up but I work late on the days that the practices for beginners are held. The event is on a Wednesday at 6pm... what kind of schedule is that??? Just curious... first I gotta get this full marathon under my belt... (pray for me)!!