The goal: To PR. Which meant anything sub-29:40.
The concerns: While I felt really confident that my training could lead to a decisive PR, I had two concerns. First and foremost, the bike crash last Sunday left me with a sore right quad. When I ran on Monday it was pretty painful. I decided to opt out of running for the rest of the week in hopes of giving it time to heal. My other concern was the weather. It has begun regularly hitting the 80's around here, and my running has been suffering. Lately I've been walking a bit even on my shortest runs... something that I really don't want to have to do. Something that lead to a sense of creeping doubt in my abilities.
The race strategy: Redline it and hold until I blow up. Simple.
The race: The weather, by the way, was beautiful. About 55 degrees and overcast. Probably one of the last lovely running mornings we will get in Houston before true heat settles in. I seeded myself too far back in the pack. For the first half mile I was passing people who were really running quite slower than I was running. I was surprised by this. I looked down at my Garmin and saw a sub-8 pace. Felt really good. Refrained from freaking out that I was going out too fast. That was the goal: redline it. I was running in a new pair of Brooks Glycerin 5s, and they felt great! In the second mile I took note of the course so I'd have some mental markers on the way back. Focused on my breathing (3-2). Heart rate felt high, but didn't check the Garmin - didn't want to know. Started to wish I could walk, just a little. Past the 2 mile marker, I knew I was going toi PR. I could totally blow up in the last mile and still PR. But I kept pushing. When we got back onto the straightaway to the finish with about .6 to go, I was really struggling. I told myself I could slow down a bit, but not walk. Glanced down at the Garmin and was *thrilled* to see that "slowed down" was an 8:03 pace. At this point, I started mentally counting down the minutes to the finish. I wanted to walk quite badly, but I just kept telling myself to make it to the finish, then I could walk - it was only _ minutes to go... and so I finished. I did not have much of a kick at the end. It seems that I burned it all on the course.
Splits:
Mile 1: 8:00 (this would be a PR on my stand-alone mile!!)
Mile 2: 8:00
Mile 3: 8:02
.14: 1:02 (7:29 pace)
Total: 25:04
25:04!!!!!!!!!!! I *SHATTERED* my PR. Freaking shattered it! By 4 minutes and 36 seconds shattered!!!
I feel so stupid about the creeping doubt that I was vocalizing to my husband in the car on the way to the race. How many times do I have to demonstrate to myself that I know how I have trained, and my training is really and truly preparing me for what I'm undertaking? I can have confidence in me. In my preparation. In my fitness. It may seem silly, but it is such a revelation to know that. It is so new, still...
PR, baby!! Next up? CB&I Triathlon in May. Wow.
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