« Calculating | Main | This is funny »
October 10, 2005
Overall Goodnes: Ugly Splits
Today was a rollercoaster day. I took the T (subway) to the race. The first low point was at 10:30 AM when I was at the race site in the stairwell of a parking garage surrounded by other people, huddled into a ball on the floor. Everyone was trying to avoid the rain and I managed to snag a pretty prime stairwell spot in the corner. People thought I was probably meditating or something but I really just had my head on my knees b/c I was trying to nap and I wanted to stay indoors to keep my sneakers dry. I was thinking to myself, “This is gross! I am so crowded! This is why I run at smaller races where I can park! I hate racing! When you go for a training run you don’t have to hang out for over an hour before the start!!!” I still had on all of my warm-up gear so at 11 AM I went out into what was now a drizzle to stake out the bag check area. It turns out bag check was exposed to the elements and I had my cell with me, so I walked over to my gym which has a branch near the Boston Common (where the race was starting). I had brought a lock with me just in case I needed to do this. I went to the gym and ditched my stuff and used the bathroom. I headed back out to the race and warmed up for a (very) little.
I stood in the 7 min/mile pace group and there were not too many people in the 5 min/mile and 6 min/mile groups so right before the race everyone moved forward. That was kind of fun b/c I didn’t have to start too far back at all. I was momentarily worried I was a bit too close to the front when I saw someone with racing flats near me, but a quick glance around showed that most people in my vicinity had regular trainers on. At this point I had on a throw away shirt (Cherry Blossoms 2002 where I was a volunteer) so I ditched that on the side of the road. It had almost stopped raining at this point and I wasn’t very cold. I was feeling less hateful and pretty good about racing at this point.
Mile One: 7:12 As I went through the split I was very excited. I didn’t feel too badly and I felt better than I had in the 5K a few weeks ago.
Mile Two: 7:20 I’m still feeling okay. I wasn’t too worried I was slower. Since I have a tendency to start too fast I figured this was probably a better pace for me to be running than 7:12.
Mile Three: 7:27 I feel horrible. “I am a moron. I can’t believe I started so fast. This is the start of a four mile bonk. I completely overestimated by running ability. What was I doing running a 7:12 mile? Moron. Moron. Moron.”
Mile Four: 7:39 Still feeling horrible. See quotation immediately from above.
Mile Five: 7:32 This is a huge 8K PR for me (Total race time 37:12). Even though 8K is less than 5 miles, I am still at least 2 minutes under my best 8K ever. (I don’t think I have run in any 5 mile races.) Physically though, I am racing hard. I don’t feel dreadful per se, but it hurts.
Mile Six: 7:25 I feel good. I am excited to be almost done. I realize I am going to be able to finish without bonking. I can see the finish line. I start to run all out, passing bunches of people.
Last .2 miles: 1:28
Total time: 46:05 (Chip) 46:12 (Gun)
I enjoyed the race and would recommend it. It was awesome to be in an all female race. I only saw two men running (they even had race numbers) out of the 4,500 finishers. The course is pretty and I think it was well organized. I got to start near the front, I had plenty of room to run the whole race, and I didn’t feel too crowded despite all of my worrying.
It wasn’t crowded afterwards either and I had no trouble spotting Alison, Blondie, and P who were all walking together. I have only met Alison and Blondie once each before (and P never) so I was very excited to see them! Blondie and Alison changed into trainers and the three of us went for a 20 minute cool down. Afterwards Blondie and I went over to Alison and P.’s and then went to grab some food. Blondie and Alison both also felt the third and fourth miles were hard so I feel less foolish for having some trouble there. I had just forgotten that all of the miles of a race do not have identical conditions. (Even so, I did still start out too fast).
Anyway, it’s my second PR of the year. I know I wrote before that I hadn’t PR’d yet this year but I am pretty sure I PR’d in an 8K on New Year’s Day. I am pretty happy with my time today and I feel like less of a loser about my running. I am always hurt and I don’t run many miles and I partied way too hard this weekend so I was feeling pretty uncommitted to the sport. However, I guess things are okay and this run was a nice confidence booster. I look forward to the next race. I had originally thought about doing a 10 mile race in mid-November but I am not sure I want to train for it. I think I would prefer to just run healthy for a little bit before racing again. My dad e-mailed me today to say he and my brother have agreed to my suggestion that we do a Turkey Trot 5K so that will probably be my next race. I am REALLY excited for all of us to run together and I just hope we are all healthy for it. One last thing I would like to work on: Not positive splitting quite so badly. The direction of my splits is pretty darn ugly.
Posted by Audrey at October 10, 2005 07:13 PM
Comments
Excellent! Congrats on the PR!
Posted by: ShoreTurtle at October 10, 2005 08:11 PM
Awesome Job Audrey! You beat both your own predicted time and the internet predictor calculator. Way to go! I think you have many more PR's in you.
Posted by: Caitlin at October 10, 2005 08:16 PM
I already said I told you so, so I won't say it again :-)
My splits were similar. I may have started off a little too fast, but I think I slowed down less than the people around me. So maybe we both could have run a little more intelligently, but I don't think your splits were that bad. And it's something to improve on next time, when you run another PR.
You're only going to get faster and faster. This is just the start!
Posted by: Alison at October 10, 2005 08:29 PM
Audrey,
Awesome job, especially in exceeding your own expectations. Don't beat yourself up over the way you felt mid-race, there are always miles that "feel" harder than others. Just how it works. But the great thing is that you worked through those 2 miles and we able to bring your pace back down again. No agonizing, enjoy the PR, and look ahead to your next race!
Posted by: MandM at October 10, 2005 08:57 PM
Congratulations, Audrey, on a great race--way to run! I'm only sorry that I missed the chance to congratulate you in person today! I'm sure that your effort today is a sign of more great races to come.
Posted by: Megan at October 10, 2005 09:39 PM
Yeah Audrey!!! I am so excited for you! You way exceeded your time goals and ran (what I believe) were really good splits. To have your last mile be your 3rd fastest mile in a 6 mile race is awesome!! Hope you recover well. Great job!
Posted by: Beth at October 10, 2005 09:46 PM
Hey great job! I knew you would do a great, and see you did better than you thought. I tend to run out to fast too. I am trying to work on that. I hope to get to run Tufts next year, it seems like a great race. Again great job today! Have a good night!
Posted by: noelle at October 10, 2005 10:15 PM
awesome job on exceeding your goal! i can't imagine running that fast ever, so its fun to live through other people who have this kind of talent!
Posted by: brent hopkins at October 10, 2005 10:20 PM
Congrats on the PR, Audrey! You know you are a super fast runner. I would beat yourself up for a faster start. I mean, if you started slower, wouldn't your time just be longer? I never understood that but maybe that's why I'm not running that fast. :D
You did a great job in your race!
Oh, and that line about "feeling less hateful" had me chuckling. I just pictured you there in the rain looking really pissed off. :)
Posted by: Jon in Michigan at October 10, 2005 10:36 PM
Congrats, Audrey; that's fantastic!
Next time you start feeling a little bit down about running you'll definitely have to think back on today and how great it feels to PR.
Strong work!
Posted by: jenandmats at October 10, 2005 10:46 PM
Woo hoo!!!! Way to go Audrey, great job on your PR. It is awesome that even though you got a little bit down during miles 3 and 4 you pulled through to a strong finish. You are a rock star!!!
Posted by: Barb at October 11, 2005 11:58 AM
Fabulous PR!!
Posted by: Dianna at October 11, 2005 01:23 PM
Nice!
Posted by: Rob at October 11, 2005 02:03 PM
Great race! It was so cool to see you again. I had a really good time warming down and at lunch/dinner too. Thank you so much for the ride to the airport!!!
Blondie
Posted by: Blondie at October 11, 2005 07:27 PM