Running has been hard this year. Life got in the way of my spring training. Things were causing stress in our house, which was causing stress for me, which was showing up in my running. It got bad and I got frustrated.
Then summer came and it got worse. I signed up for a running coach and posted two personal worst times in back to back races. I did not go into my goal race weekend with high hopes.
Race challenges are the new fad in road racing. I mean, don't normal people run one race on Saturday and then come back for a longer distance on Sunday? No..it's not normal???
Well, this weekend brought the Shell Yeah! Challenge at Crawlin' Crab in Hampton, Virginia. The challenge was a 5K on Saturday and then back for the Half Marathon on Sunday. Since I am a little Goofy and tackling a half followed by a full in January, I need all of the challenges that I can get, so I signed up.
The goal for the 5K was to have fun and shake out the legs before the half. I drove up to Hampton (which is about 30 minutes from my house) in the POURING RAIN on Saturday morning. I will not go into my feelings about the rain. Let's just say that it is not my favorite. But, by the time I got up there, the rain stopped, the breeze kicked up, and the sun finally came out. That made it sticky and yucky. I met up with some friends, did my pre-race warm-up, hit the porta-potty, and then got in my corral. I got started and felt pretty good. I ran for the first 1/2 mile or so and then started my 1/1 intervals. I watched my coach blow past me on his way to his winning finish. Made some turns, got my water, and then made the final turn which would take me back to the finish. I knew that I didn't have a 5K PR in me, but I was feeling good and strong as I came in for a 37:39 finish, which is about 2 minutes off a PR. I haven't raced a lot of 5Ks this year, but the ones I did (Myrtle Beach in February, Frederick in May and Bird in Hand in September) were not as fast as this one, so I guess it's my 2014 5K PR! :)
Sunday morning brought something that we haven't seen in Virginia in MONTHS - cool weather! When I woke up this morning, it was 49 degrees - PERFECT! I met some girls and we rode together back up to Hampton for the race. I didn't see my coach. I didn't get into all of the group pictures that usually do. I met one group of friends for a picture and then it was time to get serious. I did my warm-up run. (Note - this is no joke. I spent over a year thinking that those people who ran before they had to run were just crazy. Try it....5 minutes. You won't be sorry.) Then I hit the porta-potty and headed to my corral. The gun went off and it was game time.
I don't remember much about last year's Crawlin' Crab. I remember that I was hot and I wanted to be finished. This year, I was going to enjoy it.
Because it was so cool, it was easy to run. Because it was so cool, it was easy to run too fast at the beginning.
This was the race I had been training all summer for, so I was determined not to let a cool morning encourage me to go out too fast. I ran to the first water stop without my intervals. I started my :90/:30 second intervals after that and felt good for a really long time. I even enjoyed the course a lot more than last year. It was so hot and miserable last year, that I don't remember much. At mile 8, I switched to 1/1 intervals when I started to get tired.
I thought of the friend I made at mile 9 (who is still one of my favorite running people!). I thought of Sophie, the friend who I run for. I thought of how fortunate I am to be able to move forward for 13.1 miles and took in the scenery around me.
Coach didn't give me a pace bracelet or and advice that would make me a slave to my watch. He gave me 3 numbers - a 5K time, an 8 mile time, and a 10 mile time. If I hit those miles at the times he gave me, I would meet my B goal, which was 2:52. I was well on my way.
At mile 10, I came across a lady who was running her first half. She was hurting. She was ready to be done. I convinced her to stick with me at 1/1 intervals until about mile 12. Then I checked my watch and saw that I was SO close to my goal. She said to go ahead and that we would meet up at the end.
Just before the finish, I saw my wonderful Race Support (on his birthday, no less) and the kiddos waiting for me. I got my kisses and headed to the finish. The Hampton University Band was playing and I could see the finish line. I crossed at 2:53:55. It wasn't a PR....6 minutes off of that. But, it was the fastest time in a year. It was 45 minutes faster than Bird in Hand a month before. It showed me that I could do it.
I'm still chasing the 2:45. I'm going to get there. This was my goal race for the fall. I think that I met my goals, even if the clock didn't say 2:45. I felt strong and I finished happy. I didn't hurt (too much) and I made amazing improvement from the spring times.
Now the focus shifts to marathon training. I'm scared.....
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