Short Race report version....Ran subpar race in the wind...(10 minutes off of goal time)
Full Details...Got up really stoked to run today...Had high hopes of running sub 2:55 today (and secretly I thought I could run even faster-possibly beating or getting close to my 2:50 pr..) Arrived at the bus at 4:05 and waited in line 35 minutes to get on the bus...Got up to Wallsburg and had potty break and stretched a little...Was a tad concerned it was going to be a hot day-because I wasn't even cold at the top... Lined up at the first and the gun shot and we were off...(was a little wierd there was no countdown or anything-just a sudden gun shot signaling the start) Anyway-went out with a group of 6 girls, including Emily Bates (who won)... I was quite startled to see our first mile was 6:09...This mile felt like I was jogging at a slow pace-but I knew it was at least 20 seconds too fast..I really wanted to run with the pack of girls-but I slowly started to let them go... Miles 2-4 were around 6:20 pace and at mile 5 I settled into a 6:30 pace...(I passed 2 girls at this point to be in 3rd place) I was feeling awesome at this point in the race.. These miles were very downhill and although they weren't completely effortless but they felt really relaxed and easy..I just knew that I was going to pr today...(boy did I think wrong) Miles 6-7 were both at 6:36 pace... (I started to slowly notice the wind at this point-but it wasn't until turning left to go by deer creek that I really noticed the blazing headwind) Mile 8 was 7:25 (uphill into the wind) My great splits pretty much flew out the window here...."Stupid wind" I kept thinking to myself.. After mile 8 a kind man told me to draft behind him...I drafted off of him for 2 miles until he pulled out to walk...(So kind of him) After this I was left completely alone to face the wind myself...It was blowing extremely hard and even though alot of this section is downhill-I wasn't able to make good use of it due to the wind. My splits were all over the place and I was getting a little frustrated...Around mile 10 or 11 I knew that a sub 2:55 was not in the plans today due to the windy conditions so my game plan changed to running by effort-not split times.. I kind of stopped looking at my splits because they were so horrendous..The wind was so bad my headphones kept wanting to come off my ears..(Couldn't even really hear the music) My halfway point was 1:29:30..(Maybe I can pull off a sub 3 I thought) I was having a hard time believing I still had 13 more miles to go...Around mile 15ish I saw the girl in 2nd and was working on trying to catch her when she took off like a bandit again...I tried to draft off of people when I passed them or if they passed me-but it was hard- nobody seemed to be going my same pace and most of the time I was alone.. Saw the fam at mile 16 and that rejuvinated my spirits a little..My mom handed me a water bottle and I drank some and dumped the rest on my head..(I was hot already) They told me there was a girl a minute or two behind me..Crap I thought-I really wanted to maintain 3rd place. I kept pressing on-but it was really hard-I knew my stride was sluggish and I was tired of battling the wind..I tried to remain positive-but it was hard due to how I was feeling and the headwind...Finally when we turned onto center street-the crazy headwind died down..I tried picking it up-but my legs didn't have it in them. My family kept telling me that the girl was gaining on me and she finally passed me with about 4 miles to go...She was going too fast for me to try to stay with her so I let her pass. "Come on, only a couple more" I kept telling myself...I should have been able to pick it up but I think fighting the wind and the early fast miles took too much out of me... At this point I saw my friend Tara from the blog and she told me two more girls were within a minute away from me.. "They can't pass me" I kept telling myself-but I knew I was slowly dying. My legs weren't very crampy-but they didn't have any pickup in them..I was just slogging along as fast as I could go around a pathetic 7:00-7:28 pace. With about 3 miles to go another girl in orange (who went on the take 2nd) passed me like I was standing still.. Now I was in 5th place and knew no one else could pass me if I wanted to place... Tara drove by with about 2.5 miles left and told me two girls were behind me, the next one about 45 seconds away...I tried picking it up here a little bit-and I did-only slightly though..Tara said she was 35 seconds away with about 1.5 to go....Determined to not let her beat me I tried kicking it the best I could...(My kick was pathetic) I just kept focusing on the finish line...(Not hard to focus on since you can see it 1.5 miles away) With about a mile to go Tara ran with me for a little bit-and told me I had it if I kept it steady...Last mile was 7:00 pace... I crossed the line completely pooped. 3:09...What?! I thought...That can't be right..Later realized the clock was off and I really ran 3:05:55... The girl behind me was only 16 seconds behind.. And I was only 1:35 away from 2nd place... (Everyone was pretty close for places 2-7th...)
After thoughts:This was a tough race for me...Everything seemed great until mile 8 when we hit the wind...I realized you can train as hard as you want for a race-but you have no idea what conditions/trials you will be faced in the actual race-you just have to change your game plan and make do with what is thrown your way... I love that I learn something new from every race.. In hindsight I think starting out slightly too fast and battling the wind really hindered my performance and kick at the end that normally I like to have. I think my body and mind need a break from racing and training for a bit-so that is what I intend to do...Good job to all those that ran and persevered in the tough conditions and I guess in the long run it will only make us stronger next time... | 