The weather has been just fabulous the past week. We were in the 50's!!! The only thing is that it was raining all the while. And it still gets dark around 5pm... just after work. So I signed up for a 5k yesterday. I was SOOOO ready to beat my previous mark. Went to sleep around 11pm. Woke up around 7am and to my surprise... 3 inches of snow fell on us!!! It just cant get any worse than that. Since I paid for it, there was no way I was not going to run it... besides, everybody else will be running the same race under the same conditions. This was a pretty low-key race. It was a couples race... your teammate had to be of the opposite sex, then they added your times together. I checked the times last year, and there was a shot at getting first. When I got to the start... I saw some familiar faces... and I thought to myself "Oh crap... there is no way I'm going to beat these people". It seems that now even the low key races are being invaded by the fleetfeet!! I guess all in the name of bragging rights or collecting winner awards.
There was a female runner, that was Michigan Runner of the Year. My goal was to have her pace me for the first mile, then hold on for dear life. Given the weather, I didnt do a sufficient warmup. At mile 1, I was probably 15 seconds behind her. I guessed as such, because I FORGOT MY GARMIN. After that, my lungs cramped up, lactic acid built up in my legs, and it was a wrap!! I had my Fastwitch 3 shoes. They have vent holes in the bottom, so my feet was soaked and numb by mile 1. This was a very slushy run. (I should have learned my lesson from my previous 5k). No matter how I tried to speed up, all I did was slip and slide. This would have been the perfect race for my Yaktrax!! I finished a dismal 21:54... I swear, my first mile felt like it was probably 6 minutes flat. I felt bad the entire race. Time for more endurance... I just gotta hold on. That female finished in 18:16.
My race of the year is going to be my 25k run in May. I hope to build a speed base by doing 5k's and an endurance base by training for my marathon in April. I'm signed up for the Clydesdale division (185lbs and up). Last year, the winner for my age group got 1hr 55min. I think I can beat that. I gotta average 7:40 pace. This is my year for PR's... no excuses... and I run on...
There was a female runner, that was Michigan Runner of the Year. My goal was to have her pace me for the first mile, then hold on for dear life. Given the weather, I didnt do a sufficient warmup. At mile 1, I was probably 15 seconds behind her. I guessed as such, because I FORGOT MY GARMIN. After that, my lungs cramped up, lactic acid built up in my legs, and it was a wrap!! I had my Fastwitch 3 shoes. They have vent holes in the bottom, so my feet was soaked and numb by mile 1. This was a very slushy run. (I should have learned my lesson from my previous 5k). No matter how I tried to speed up, all I did was slip and slide. This would have been the perfect race for my Yaktrax!! I finished a dismal 21:54... I swear, my first mile felt like it was probably 6 minutes flat. I felt bad the entire race. Time for more endurance... I just gotta hold on. That female finished in 18:16.
My race of the year is going to be my 25k run in May. I hope to build a speed base by doing 5k's and an endurance base by training for my marathon in April. I'm signed up for the Clydesdale division (185lbs and up). Last year, the winner for my age group got 1hr 55min. I think I can beat that. I gotta average 7:40 pace. This is my year for PR's... no excuses... and I run on...
3 comments:
At least you got a great picture out of it! I love that shot with the snow coming down, you seem to get good pics often in your races, from the handful I've seen, you lucky man.
But I digress, I can't imagine trying to race in that slippery stuff, so kudos to you. I will affirm your comment...2009 is definitely your year for massive PRs. Now go get 'em! :-)
Holy moly! I can't believe you raced in that mess- kudos to you! Where do you live, Alaska? Seriously, that is insane. Hang in there with the weather. As soon as spring hits, you can get on the marathon-training bandwagon! I'm seeing a serious PR in your future!
Hey rock star! I bet you felt that lactic acid build up as fast as you did because you didn't sufficiently warm up. I've done the same thing before and it hurts like heck. Way to gut it out in the snow!!! I'm glad you did not get hurt out there.
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