Rain, rain, and rain! After one of the longest, hardest work weeks I've had since ACN, I woke up on this rainy Saturday morning to run the 10k in Bedford.
To set the scene, here's the week recap:
Monday - easy 4 miler with the group (my right knee was killing me from the 14 aquajog on Sunday)
Tuesday - track night with Andrea
Wednesday - nada
Thursday - mile repeats with the group (4 of 'em)
Friday - nada
Saturday - Race Day!
I'm definitely doing only a few miles each week, mostly because I want to take it easy on my hip/knees/leg/foot until we can figure out what the problem(s) are. Talk about quality over quantity... man am I totally paying for it!!
We got to Bedford and were situated with about 15 minutes to go before the race. Rachel, Kari, Craig K. and I did a short warm-up with the 10 minutes we had, and after a stride or two on the track, I could tell my legs weren't feeling quite 100%. But, that's the beauty of these Bedford runs! They're more casual and laid-back, but still forces a good race-pace effort. In true Steph form, I barely made it to the start line before the gun.
I wish I could confidently say I purposely changed up my normal race m.o. and went out fast, but that's a lie. I haven't raced in a while, so I fell victim to the "Jon Lee Effect" and was swept away with the faster guys at the gun. Faster than I'd like. My tried and true method usually involves going out very conservatively and picking up the pace. Today was not one of those days!
I ran with Chris for a little while, and we hit Mile 1 at 6:40. That would've been completely awesome if I'd felt better! Anyway, I think Mile 2 came at 6:59 (?), and Mile 3 at 6:55. As we went around the cul-de-sac, Chris took off and I lost my split-calling buddy. Every mile after that was a fight!! The rest of the run was an awful blur of trying to catch my breath, saying "thanks!" to the volunteers, and giving each runner a thumbs up or a "good job" when we crossed paths. Late into mile 4, I saw Ben, who had finished the race, walked back, and was cheering for me on the side of the road. Sweet- I was close to the end! (My body must funnel all the blood and oxygen from my brain to my legs when I run... I barely remembered any landmarks on this out-and-back course to realize my mistake) At this point, I was so tired!! I was paying the consequences for going out too fast in the beginning. As I approached Mile 5, the volunteer said, "Only a mile to go!" .... but unfortunately, I thought I was already well into mile 5. If you know me at all, I have a very distinct on/off switch, and this was mentally damaging! My heart sank even more when I realized that there was no possible way, where and when I'd seen Ben, that he could've finished so quickly and jogged back to the point where I'd seen him a hundred yards earlier. He had to have dropped out.
I negotiated with myself up the last hill (I'll take it easy up this hill, but then must continue at race pace to the finish) and finally saw downhill straightaway to the finish. I had less in the tank than I hoped in the last mile. But, fast forward to the finish, and finally it was over. On the injury front, I never had any issues! I ended up feeling sharp pain in my right leg during the cooldown, but that's it. The injuries still exist, yes, but didn't flare up during this run... they mostly show themselves when I approach higher mileage (40+) on the week. A temporary win, but a win none the less!
Upon finishing, the rest of the guys told me Ben was feeling sick again during the race and stopped running. He's been fighting a cold all week. While running, he was having some productive coughing fits and walked it back from the turnaround point at the cul-de-sac. Three hours later he started to having some knee/leg issues that caused his leg to swell at the knee and calf. He can barely walk and bear weigh on it today (Sunday), but is popping ibuprofen, icing, and resting like a champ.
Overall, I'm satisfied with my time, especially since I rarely race the 10k. Now I have a better idea of my fitness level. The time was good enough for me, and I know I can run that (or faster) while also feeling stronger. So, the two goals I have walking out of this are a) to start lifting again and b) add more miles.
A few funny moments happened when people kept running past the actual finish because the line could be identified only by a small ground marking and about 5 people standing around. Rachel N. was hilarious! As she unknowingly sprinted across the finish - and then kept going - we yelled at her, "You're done! You are finished! Rachel, you're done!" She still kept running like she was racing! Honestly, the Bedford Let's Go training group always does such a great job on their races, despite the usually small field. McDonald's orange drink and oreos at the end of the race, awards given out as you cross the finish line, directional arrows spray-painted on the ground, and volunteers at EVERY turn -- it doesn't get better than that. All in all, this was a good and hard race, a completely appropriate and consistent end for this incredibly exhausting week!
To set the scene, here's the week recap:
Monday - easy 4 miler with the group (my right knee was killing me from the 14 aquajog on Sunday)
Tuesday - track night with Andrea
Wednesday - nada
Thursday - mile repeats with the group (4 of 'em)
Friday - nada
Saturday - Race Day!
I'm definitely doing only a few miles each week, mostly because I want to take it easy on my hip/knees/leg/foot until we can figure out what the problem(s) are. Talk about quality over quantity... man am I totally paying for it!!
We got to Bedford and were situated with about 15 minutes to go before the race. Rachel, Kari, Craig K. and I did a short warm-up with the 10 minutes we had, and after a stride or two on the track, I could tell my legs weren't feeling quite 100%. But, that's the beauty of these Bedford runs! They're more casual and laid-back, but still forces a good race-pace effort. In true Steph form, I barely made it to the start line before the gun.
I wish I could confidently say I purposely changed up my normal race m.o. and went out fast, but that's a lie. I haven't raced in a while, so I fell victim to the "Jon Lee Effect" and was swept away with the faster guys at the gun. Faster than I'd like. My tried and true method usually involves going out very conservatively and picking up the pace. Today was not one of those days!
I ran with Chris for a little while, and we hit Mile 1 at 6:40. That would've been completely awesome if I'd felt better! Anyway, I think Mile 2 came at 6:59 (?), and Mile 3 at 6:55. As we went around the cul-de-sac, Chris took off and I lost my split-calling buddy. Every mile after that was a fight!! The rest of the run was an awful blur of trying to catch my breath, saying "thanks!" to the volunteers, and giving each runner a thumbs up or a "good job" when we crossed paths. Late into mile 4, I saw Ben, who had finished the race, walked back, and was cheering for me on the side of the road. Sweet- I was close to the end! (My body must funnel all the blood and oxygen from my brain to my legs when I run... I barely remembered any landmarks on this out-and-back course to realize my mistake) At this point, I was so tired!! I was paying the consequences for going out too fast in the beginning. As I approached Mile 5, the volunteer said, "Only a mile to go!" .... but unfortunately, I thought I was already well into mile 5. If you know me at all, I have a very distinct on/off switch, and this was mentally damaging! My heart sank even more when I realized that there was no possible way, where and when I'd seen Ben, that he could've finished so quickly and jogged back to the point where I'd seen him a hundred yards earlier. He had to have dropped out.
I negotiated with myself up the last hill (I'll take it easy up this hill, but then must continue at race pace to the finish) and finally saw downhill straightaway to the finish. I had less in the tank than I hoped in the last mile. But, fast forward to the finish, and finally it was over. On the injury front, I never had any issues! I ended up feeling sharp pain in my right leg during the cooldown, but that's it. The injuries still exist, yes, but didn't flare up during this run... they mostly show themselves when I approach higher mileage (40+) on the week. A temporary win, but a win none the less!
Upon finishing, the rest of the guys told me Ben was feeling sick again during the race and stopped running. He's been fighting a cold all week. While running, he was having some productive coughing fits and walked it back from the turnaround point at the cul-de-sac. Three hours later he started to having some knee/leg issues that caused his leg to swell at the knee and calf. He can barely walk and bear weigh on it today (Sunday), but is popping ibuprofen, icing, and resting like a champ.
Overall, I'm satisfied with my time, especially since I rarely race the 10k. Now I have a better idea of my fitness level. The time was good enough for me, and I know I can run that (or faster) while also feeling stronger. So, the two goals I have walking out of this are a) to start lifting again and b) add more miles.
A few funny moments happened when people kept running past the actual finish because the line could be identified only by a small ground marking and about 5 people standing around. Rachel N. was hilarious! As she unknowingly sprinted across the finish - and then kept going - we yelled at her, "You're done! You are finished! Rachel, you're done!" She still kept running like she was racing! Honestly, the Bedford Let's Go training group always does such a great job on their races, despite the usually small field. McDonald's orange drink and oreos at the end of the race, awards given out as you cross the finish line, directional arrows spray-painted on the ground, and volunteers at EVERY turn -- it doesn't get better than that. All in all, this was a good and hard race, a completely appropriate and consistent end for this incredibly exhausting week!
Here's me with my medal!
(Yeah, I'm scrubbin' today... but I earned it!)
Great recap - and I love that photo (and Sam's enjoying my medal). :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the 10K! It sounds like you had a great race and I'm glad to hear the injuries didn't flare up!!!
ReplyDelete