August 15, 2009
Never Without Incident
After a loooonnng week at work, I wasn't really feeling the racing mood when I woke up this morning. My bed felt so good, but I got on up anyway. K and I picked up Michelle, and we drove 35 minutes to Monroeville (home of To Kill a Mockingbird). I knew this would be a small race, but chose it over a race that would be 3 times the driving time. Michelle and I tried to find the course and see how it was marked, etc. We were still a bit confused and worried when they said there would be no lead police car. The weather was 77* w/ 91% humidity at start time. Prior to starting, I saw 3 h.s boys that looked really fast. They were from a h.s. about an hour away and were preparing for the their first XC race. They said they would run between 17 and 18 minutes. I told myself I would try to stay w/ them. I know you're thinking this is a pipe dream for me, but I know how h.s. boy embellish their accomplishments, so I was thinking of adding at least a minute to EACH of their times, especially considering the weather.
We took off WAAAAAYYYY to fast, just like I always do. I was feeling pretty good, though and the first mile was 6:03 (oops). The 3 h.s. boys were in front of me, but already spread out a bit. I was running w/ 2 other men. After the first mile, I left the 2 men and eventually passed the 3rd h.s boy. This is where it really gets good.
There was, in fact, a lead police car, but no one was blocking the intersections. Hhmmm. I knew this after the first turn, so I was carefully watching the road the whole time. There weren't even cones to warn vehicles we were there. At about 1.4, I approach the 'main' intersection the was right before the water stop. I looked left and right, then proceeded to cross. It all kind of happened at once, but I saw one of the ladies at the water station like jump up towards me. (She was sitting in a chair and the water was sitting on the table.) Then the h.s. boy behind me yelled something like "whoa!" He was right behind me at this point. Right then, a gray Tahoe speed directly in front of me, seriously one foot from my body. I actually had to stop running and jump back. The ladies at the water stop were yelling at me, asking if I was okay. I just went on trucking (haha, pun intended).
The sun was beaming and mile 2 was 6:16. I was starting to fade a bit, plus I was shaking from the near-death experience. The course had way too many turns, too. We seriously turned like 10 times within 3 miles. I made lots of ground on 3rd h.s. boy and I could see 2nd ahead of me. First was out of sight (b/c of all the turns). The road were marked w/ white chalk. I would run the rest of the race alone. Mile 3 was 6:22. The last portion was straight ahead, and I finished 0.14 in 44 seconds.
Final time 19:26.
In summary, I am quite pleased w/ this. I know it's no PR, and considering my marathon goal, i should be running much faster. The thing is, I'm not really a 5K runner anymore. It's just not my thing. I like them every once in awhile, and good in the summer b/c a race any longer than this is like a slow suicide. It's just too darn hot to race down here. I am pleased b/c I am 5 seconds off my PR that was set in early fall last year. This is a sign of progress. Scorching hot/ humid weather, a strong race w/ zero competition, and I still did pretty well. I'll race another 5k in late September. By then, the humidity will be down a bit, so that should help. Also, who starts an Alabama race at 8:00 in August? That's just dumb.
Michelle did awesome, too. She broke 24 minutes and won the female master's division. K ran, and I'm really proud of him, even though he didn't run the time he wanted. He's been so busy w/ football that he hasn't been running. I was proud of him for just getting out there.
Besides the Tahoe experience, it was a good day. I feel like I am right where I should be with my training. I wouldn't say I'm overjoyed, but satisfied is a good word to describe how I feel. I cut back this week to 75-80 (depending on how far I go tomorrow), but next week will aim for 90-100. I've got lots planned, so it is going to be a challenge to get the miles in. I've decided a mileage RANGE is easier for me to deal with than an exact number, too. Above is a pic of Michelle and I with our awards and another before the race.
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Great job! You had me nervous when you started talking about the Tahoe. You are gonna blow away CT!.
ReplyDeletewoot! awesome job! scary about the tahoe though but way to not let that slow you down at all :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome job, LA! 5 seconds off your PR is great given the week you've had with work.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are okay! Congrats on a great race!
ReplyDeleteCJ
Nice job esp. considering the mileage that you've been doing. I wish we had run in the same race this weekend. We could have pushed each other to PRs. All the best in marathon training and I hope to see you next month in Eastchase.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, don't know how anyone can race in these conditions and you came out smelling like a rose. Scary incident, though.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great LAR, you're doing great! The fact that you can run 100 miles in one week and do a 5k in the dreadful heat and still do well, kudos to you!
ReplyDeletewow that sounds kind of scary, but glad you had a good race anyway! you know that 77 degree weather with 90% humidity, you sent it to NYC this weekend even at 7 am for my half marathon, which alas was a bit of a disaster! so I say keep going for those summer 5Ks down there, even if you're not a 5K runner anymore. I remember back in the winter when you were all worried about your running and I was cruising along, look where you are now and where all that hard work is going to get you in October (all my hard work is taking me towards a 3:30 I think).
ReplyDeleteWow. That's really impressive, especially considering the heat and the truck. I think I would have been done after that!
ReplyDeleteI would pay good money to be able to say that, "Oops, I ran a 6 minute mile." LOL!
ReplyDeleteHoly moly on being inches from getting plowed over. EEK. Way to shake that off and finish strong in the conditions!
ReplyDelete