Yesterday:
I met up with Doggie girl and her girlfriend Loren for lunch and Expo persuing.  Once at the Expo, we hooked up with Kat (my Lehigh Valley Half roomy) so much socializing and fun anticipatory excitement.

Today – Race Day:
I live a short walk to the start, so I timed it to get into my corral with 10-15 minutes of wait time.  Temps for the start were 59 degrees and I was already wishing I’d worn just a sports bra on top, but since I was wearing my Gifted Runner shirt I didn’t have the heart to throw it away or want it flapping from the waistband of my shorts, so I kept it on.  I didn’t wear my HR monitor today, though I carried my small Amphipod with a gel in its pocket, which I ate at mile 8.

Gun goes off and I’m feeling ok but not at all speedy.  It never felt easy today but I told myself as the miles ticked by that if I wanted it to feel easy, I wouldn’t be racing.

Near the beginning a woman passed me and said she loved my shirt (PRs and Sunshine), so whore that I am, I pant out “giftedrunner.com… it’s my company”.  I’m such a ho for a buck.

Seemed like it took no time at all for my breathing to sound ugly, which always messes with my head.  I had to take occasional body checks to confirm I wasn’t on death’s door (Legs ok? Check.  Lungs ok?  Seems so, breathing 2 in, 2 out, just noisy as hell…).

My Garmin was off as always, plus I’d forgotten my pace band, so I wasn’t real sure of where I should be when.  As I’ve come to do in races these days, I kept the autolap on so I don’t have to hit Lap every mile, but as the beeps get earlier from the mile markers, I hit the lap button at some of the mile markers to re-calibrate the starting point.  That way I can add up those mini “laps” to their previous laps when I get home to have a more accurate picture.  That said, at the last few miles, I’m unable to press any buttons at all.

Splits went like this: 7:04, 7:03, 6:59, 7:01, 7:00, 7:07, 7:13, 7:14, 7:13, 7:20, 7:18, 7:09, 7:08 and the last .16 (Garmin’s deal, not mine) was 1:01 (Garmin thinks I ran 13.33).  Anyway, I kept wanting to count down the miles I had left but had to resist, making a deal that I couldn’t do that till mile 8, otherwise, it would seem interminable.

The Finish Line:
My finish was extremely uncomfortable.  I gave it my usual finishing kick which, in retrospect, I shouldn’t have even attempted because as I turned the final corner to the finish, my legs went wobbly (memories of Steamtown), so with the damn clock ticking down in front of my face, race goal already disappeared, I had no choice but to slow down my final few yards.  What a bugger.  I’m hoping the fake smile I put on made it to the cameras in time.

Final time:
1:33:51
6th in my AG and incidentally, oldest among those 6.   Note: I would’ve been 7th, but Doreen McCoubrie, a local 47-year old phenom is Elite, which is its own division…she came in at 1:20:30!  I swear, she’s Dorian Grey
Age grade 79.7%
134th female out of 6374
899th finisher out of 12,247

Yes, I’m disappointed,  because though I said sub 1:33 was my goal, I decided yesterday that what I really wanted to run was 7:00s.  So OK I got a PR, but not by enough, especially since the May Half was hilly and I’ve been working hard these past few months.

Moaning aside, the way I’m justifying it in my brain is that the May Half was my Spring goal race so I was tapered and sharp with all workouts pointed towards that one race.  But then, DA (Devil’s Advocate) says, “you kind of did taper this week because you had a day off on Monday then only ran 54 miles the whole week, including the race”.   To which I might reply, “well, my peak for the May Half was 72 miles and that’s been my average mileage these last couple months, so maybe I’m tired.  To which DA might reply “Higher weekly mileage? You should have been even faster“.  Fuck you, DA.

As for Dog and Kat, Doggie was hurting from mile 8, though still managed a healthy PR, so her report will be a tale from the Ouch.  Loren, who hardly runs anymore and never distance (an All-American in college, so a natural fastie) surprised herself with a 1:32:xx, the bitch. I hate to think what she’d do if given a few months of specific training.

Kat had the race we all dream about, she was planning on 1:47 but felt so good, she couldn’t help but run faster, ending up with a 1:45  and a 3 minute PR which bodes beautifully for Steamtown, which she’s running in 3 weeks.  She came to my new pad after the race for a shower and chatskies and on the way here we ran into Nick on the street.  That congratulatory hug made my day (hi Nick!! ).

Final thoughts:
If Philly was in a month, I’d be genuinely concerned, but with 8 weeks left and sharpening still to come, I’m not quite at “uh oh” level, but I’ll keep a clear eye on my progress from here on in.  I can’t afford to finish Philly in an ugly manner – it’ll determine my corral for Boston, so honesty is the best and only policy.

Really Final Thoughts:
Starting in a fast corral with all those men and just a sprinkling of gals (predominately younger than me) was a total trip and despite my whining, I’m beyond appreciative that I’m even allowed to participate alongside them.  So take my bitching with a grain of salt – I know I’m lucky as hell.

Oh, and NJGirl, if you’re reading this, I am sooo sad we didn’t get to meet, Kat and I hunted for you for awhile, but no luck.  Also, to that sweet blog reader who asked if I was Girl In Motion, you’ve been ordered to post a comment on here, so I’m holding you to it.

So I Lied Final Thoughts:
Nothing to say here, just being funny.  Later, kids.