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June 22, 2005
Race Inhibitions
Yesterday I ran the first race in a summer series that my club holds annually. Even though it was low key (and cheap - $1 for members) and my friends were there, I have to admit that I was nervous…I had performance anxiety. I know everyone deals with this to some degree, I just didn’t know what to expect from myself since my recent racing hasn’t been stellar. In retrospect, it went well. I ran the first mile in 6:43, and this was with a huge uphill, some rolling hills, and being cautious on the rocks and uneven surfaces. My achilles still hurt, so I wore an achilles strap and that took the strain off temporarily. I’m certain I slowed down in mile 2 because I felt absolutely drained, but I had no choice but to chug along since it was an out and back course. A little while after the turnaround, I got my second wind partly because a guy was right behind me and partly because I had finally settled into a comfortable pace. I didn’t time the rest of the splits but they definitely felt faster. I finished in 28:39 and ha, I didn’t throw up! With my warm up and cool down, I ended up with almost 9 miles for the day. Perfect.
I realized that I need to take advantage of these weekly tune up races because I have no speed right now. And my body needs to remember what it’s like to feel good racing with discomfort. Poor Audrey had to listen to me being hard on myself after the race, but by the time I finished my cool down, the self-pity session was over. Even though I’m not a big fan of short races, I’m looking forward to using them as building blocks for the fall.
Posted by Leilani at June 22, 2005 02:46 PM
Comments
That's so funny. We're all so self-conscious about ourselves...I didn't even notice a self-pity session! It was that subtle! Glad you found inner peace with your race! I'm sore from yesterday!!! Ow!!! See ya!
Posted by: Audrey at June 22, 2005 06:25 PM
Great job Leilani! Sounds like a solid race. That's nice that your club has those and for so cheap! Hope the achilles is feeling okay...
Posted by: Beth at June 22, 2005 09:43 PM
I'm glad the race went well. It's nice to know you can do those club races to tune up!
Posted by: Nanda at June 24, 2005 03:23 PM