Thankfully, somehow even though I detest getting up early in the morning, I drug my OLD HAG ASS out of bed every day last week EARLY.... swam 3 mornings, biked 2 days, and intermixed 4 runs.... ...My butt was feeling a whole lotta hurt.. but it’s SLOWLY managing to adjust again to sitting on the blasted bike seat...and WHOSE brain storm was it anyway...to create that itty bitty bike seat.. ??!....no one’s ass is that small !!!
... My swim stroke is continuing it’s love affair with creating me into a fine sea horse.... (the world's slowest fish is the sea horse. It travels .001 miles per hour. It would take the fish about an hour to swim only five feet.) ... me I am S-L-O-W and steady... and all the big chicks lap me... but I am getting stronger again.. I can feel it.. (sure lack of oxygen can cause this too..)
So what to do.. ??....feeling strong...feeling “euphoric”.... I decided on the sly to do a 5K race midweek (aka: last Thursday).... as my speed run.. I mean...why not.. ?...I needed motivation to actually FORCE myself to do the speed workout... and it was for a good cause.. AND was directed by one of my favorite race directors, Wayne Kursh of Races 2 Run... http://www.races2run.com/.... so I thought yeah.. ok.. WHY NOT!! ...I will drive to Wilmington, DE after work, partake in this 5K and viola my speed work will be done for the night!
Well. ..what I didn’t count on was the drastic drop in temps.. NORMALLY colder temps would not be a problem but I had started my “heat acclimation” training for Eagleman.. which is basically I would try and run at the hottest point of the day (when I could) so I could get my body used to the heat... if a day was cooler than 70 I would dress in long sleeves, gloves and hat to simulate 70+... so been doing this for about a week and well this race just so happen to be in the low 50’s with winds... ... PERFECT running weather.. ALAS though NOT when you are heat acclimating and not when I was expecting it to be 70 and didn’t pack my simulation gear.. ..So I am in basically in my short shorts, race singlet and freezing my butt off. ..oh well.. Prior to the race I had reviewed my training aspirations for the evening with a mentor who suggested I try and pace evenly.. a 7.24 mile pace for each of the 3.1 miles... yeah sure not a problem... and through chattering teeth I lined up to run.... I noticed a former Olympic runner, who lives in Wilmington, and her elite running partner were both running this race..I am sure the matching race singlets and synchronized warm up didnt cause any undue attention.. but I knew the women.. I had seen them before... and knew their specs.. amazing how I can somehow memorize the entire list of specs for a competitor but can’t remember my own freaking home phone number... GRR...either case I knew they both ran low 6’s and both were in my age group.
So what do you do if a former Olympian jumps in your race.. ???.....do you get pissed or do you feel honored?... I mean pissed because you would think they got enough glory and attention when they were in the Olympics and why bother with a small local 5K.. isnt that just showing off??.. because aint no one NORMAL running as fast as you... or should I feel honored that I get to run with someone so talented and blessed to have gotten into the Olympics...???
Me.. I didn’t feel either... not pissed nor honored...I just kinda was... like I saw them.. knew that they would blow me out of my age group...and oh well... So off we go.. keeping my mind on the consistent 7.24 pace...
Although I didn’t hit the specs at all correctly (too fast, then too slow, and then too fast again... LOTS to work on in that area).... I did have a chance to work on my race tactics (hunter, hunt, be hunted)... and came in a decent 23.51 (7.41 pace avg)...
So what were the end results..???... the former Olympian.. she won overall... yeah 1st even outta men.. her sidekick got first in my age group, I got second.. me kicking out a ¼ mile pass to beat the third place woman in my age group..(thus race tactics)... and so snuck in my speed workout and it was “FUN”.
Now to get to bed early in order to start another FUN week... I somehow signed up for a 5K trail race and later in the week a 10K...
PS: Heather’s Graduation and Broadstreet stories hopefully forthcoming this week!)
