A clydesdale no more!

Ran the Davis Blvd loop.  My legs are a little sore from the 5k on Saturday (especially my right calf and foot).

Started with 3 easy miles that weren't all that easy.  My legs are very sore today.  I wanted to get in a few miles at 1/2 marathon pace (6:40/mile) but with the sore legs I wasn't sure if that was going to happen.  Started out and my legs felt surprisingly good and came in at 6:35.  Followed it with a 6:30 (slightly aided) and another 6:35.  The pace felt good and I really didn't feel like I was pushing too hard although my heart rate gradually increased throughout the run.  Finished with 2 more easy miles.

PM

Went to the rec center for my first stroke development class in the pool.  What an awful experience.  We started with a kick board and I couldn't move.  I'm not exaggerating at all.  The entire class was across the pool and I was not even half way across.  I was so embarrassed.  We then got some pointers on what the freestyle stroke is supposed to look like and did a couple of laps.  It is only a 30 minute class and there are 8 people in it so there really isn't much time for instruction.  All I learned was what a terrible swimmer I am.  This is going to take some serious work.  I really want to get to the point where I can go do some laps at the pool and not be completely humiliated. 

Super tired and sore legs this morning.  Kept the pace super easy - no watch, no HR monitor just running.  I'm still struggling with the humiliation from last night's swim class.

My legs are still tired and sore.  Decided to take it easy today and tomorrow in hopes that my legs will feel a little more fresh on Saturday.  As I was running on an overpass I noticed some pages from a magazine scattered across the sidewalk.  Yes, that kind of magazine.  I picked up the pages and found a dumpster to dispose of them.  This is actually the second time that this has happened while I was running.  

Perfect running weather. It was nice and cool with no wind.  Today was just a quick and easy 5 while trying to get the legs refreshed.  Had another swim class last night.  Wish that I could say that it was better than the first.  The kick board was still a problem  I just don't get it.  That should be the one thing that I can do.  After telling my girls about the class they wanted to come and watch.  I guess they  needed a good laugh.  Emma told me that she would teach me how to use the kick board.  The swimming wasn't any better but I could at least tell what I was doing wrong which I think is a step in the right direction.

After only racing a couple of 5k’s this year, I really had no idea what kind of shape I was in for a longer race.  Going into this race, I thought that 1:25 was a reasonable goal but I had my doubts.  While I was on the bus on the way up the canyon I realized that I don’t even know what pace I would need to run to get a 1:25.  I’m always overly worried about being late to races so I ended up being on the first bus which meant a lot of waiting around.  I warmed up with a little over a mile of slow running then spent the rest of the time in the POP line.  I was shivering at the starting line which is always a good sign.  Freezing at the start means perfect racing weather.  The gun went off and after making it through the initial race congestion I settled into a comfortable pace.  The first 4 miles are major downhill and I didn’t think about the pace while I was running.  I just ran at a pace that felt right.  The splits for these miles were: 6:10, 6:13, 6:16, 6:06.  The course then flattens out for the next 2 miles.  Miles 5 and 6 were 6:29, 6:25 which is what I believe my true half marathon pace is.  Miles 7 and 8 include a good little climb and I ran these in 6:39 and 6:40.  Coming down the hill I realized that the guy I was running with was JeffL from the blog and we stayed together for most of the race.  Mile 9 came in at 6:14 and I thought I was done at that point.  My legs started to hurt and I started having a lot of self doubt.  Having Jeff there really helped keep the pace honest.  At the 10 mile mark, I expected to see something close to 7:00 and was surprised to see 6:25.  I figured that if I was this tired and still able to run at a decent pace then I just need to focus on my leg turnover and not think about anything else.  Miles 11, 12 and 13 were 6:21, 6:25, 6:20 with the final 0.1 at 5:28/mile.  I was super tired and had to keep reminding myself to relax the form but was able to maintain a good pace.  Final time was 1:23:30 which is a PR by 29 seconds.  My first PR at any distance in almost 2 years.  I finished in 17th place overall and 3rd in my age group.  I am really happy with the effort.  Even though I felt good at the finish I remember thinking during the race that I could not move my legs faster than they were going.  I hung around for awhile and watched a lot of the finishers come in because I had a “friend” that was running and I wanted to see her finish.

Almost forgot to mention that  I thought the organization was a lot better this year.  I know Curt has a bad reputation for how he runs his races but other than the usual communication issues and messy start he did a great job this year.  The atmosphere at the finish was great.