So I snuck this one by you guys, first time I’ve done a race without mentioning it here beforehand.

I did this one thanks to Lynn on the Women’s BQ thread.  She’s a great gal and when she mentioned this race, I was all “ooooh, I dunno”.   After Philly, I’ve been scared to race again (though I know I needed to) plus I’ve been slower this cycle and this race is hillier than any race I’ve ever done.

I read a great term on the Marathon Race Training forum for the first race of the season, “Rust Buster” and that’s exactly the way I thought of this one.  Just get it out of the way so the more important race, my Half in March, isn’t such a shock.  Even so, yesterday I required hand-holding from my Sub3:20 thread friends because I was more worried about what people would think with my result, since I knew it would not be indicative of a good marathon for April.

I know this is stupid, btw, to be concerned with what people think but I’m telling you this because I know it’s a common feeling even if you don’t have a blog, since our race results are there on Athlinks for anyone to see.  And I do have a blog. :-)  Anyway, my pals on the thread were, as usual, amazing, cool, sweet and so positive that I wish I could hug them all.  Luckily, I’ll be able to attack a good many of them in Boston.

Last Night

I’ve been keeping late hours these days, going to bed at 2am, getting up at 8:30 or 9:00, so I took a melatonin around 10pm to get to sleep at 11 which worked a treat, though I had a bit of tossing and turning.

Before I took “my meds” (that term cracks me up, how it’s in the common vernacular these days), I pulled out Matt Fitzgerald’s Brain Training For Runners because there’s a really great section on pain and suffering within racing and I needed to reread it.  After Philly, that’s one of the things that scares me, the discomfort, but Matt basically says expect and invite the pain, which helped me be “bring it on!” today instead of worrying about the hills.

This Morning’s Weigh In

I told myself last night not to get on the scale.  I knew it would fuck with my head because I’m heavier lately so I told myself not to weigh myself and when I wake up, pretend I’m 117.5 (so not true since I haven’t been that since early November).

I took a lot of Ibuprofen yesterday because I have a quad that’s been tight and I haven’t been good about tending to it but for the last couple days I’ve been rolling it so now it’s more tender than before.  Unfortunately, ibuprofen makes me retain water, so when I got on the scale this morning (what, you thought I’d obey myself?) and saw 122.5, it was more confirmation that the race would not be my best.  I was pretty much ok with it by now though, so in a good mood, though scared.

The Race

I see Lynn and her hubby when I get there which was a stroke of luck because there were tons of runners.  It’s a bigger race than I thought.  I get my bib and was very happy that it was chip-timed because I didn’t want to line up near the front this time.

I was in the bathroom line to the very last minute so I didn’t get a warmup though I found a little swath of parking lot next to the start and did a few circles there.  The temperature was 34 degrees but windy at times, so I guess “real feel” upper 20s.

I never have much recollection of my races, though what I do remember was a guy dressed in a penguin suit who was the pacer for 35:00 (surprised there were pacers…there was also another penguin for 40:00).  He passed me at the beginning and I wasn’t one bit tempted to try to keep up.  With the hills in mind, all I wanted to do was finish this race in one piece.

There was another guy running near me who obviously did this race many times, so he’d announce, “a hill coming up after this turn” which was helpful but also annoying because he wasn’t one bit out of breath, so I was jealous.

One thing I remember clearly was in the midst of it, all the worry about what kind of time I’d get or what people would think of me became laughable.  I was a strong woman again.  As I made my way up those rollers (they were genuine hills to me but I’m sure others would be “oh yeah, gentle rollers”) I was once again alongside and passing men much younger than me and damn, if that isn’t always a gift to the psyche.  I’m sorry guys, I know it’s petty, but to hang with your kind is one of the thrills of racing for me.  I love men and while being surrounded by them is fabulous, passing them is downright delicious.

Splits were 7:15,7:16,7:10,7:05,6:58.  My clock time was 35:53 (chip time’s not up yet), 1st place in my AG.  Sure, it’d suck if I was predicting a marathon from it but I’m not and in fact, I’m pretty chuffed with the result.  I managed this on a new and hilly course and 5lbs heavier than my usual (honestly, 7lbs over my best race weight from the Spring).  I will lose the weight before my Half and when the weather improves, running should be easier so today was a good Rust Buster.

That said, maybe I should be thinking 3:30 – 3:25 for April 19th but really…who gives a fuck?   If that’s what it’ll need to be, that’s what it’ll be.  Seriously, I want to feel like I did today, strong and capable.  You can’t buy that feeling.

I’ll do this race again next year, the Masters winner came in at 33:xx and I’ve got my eye set on that.  I’m just waiting for this marathon rigmarole to be overwith so I can find Fast Flo again.  She’s here alright, just waiting for an opening.

Miscellaneous

I totally forgot to eat anything this morning, but never felt as though my energy was compromised.  So last night’s pasta was enough to keep me happy throughout, good to know for the future.  And I didn’t even notice my quad.

Shoutout to Lynn and Joanna, it was super fun hanging with you guys afterwards and thanks again Lynn for talking me into it, I owe you one.

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