This year's Cherry Blossom turned into a tough day with very strong winds at some points. The race decided to remove tents, the elite women's start, mile markers, and the award ceremony due to a high wind advisory. Ironically the weather was great all week while I sat in my office working. But the one day this month that had to be pristine is the one day a polar vortex rushes through the region, dropping temps to the mid 30s with windchills in the teens this morning. I run like shit in the wind. It has something to do with my form. I fly when the wind is behind me, and slow to a crawl when it's in my face, moreso than other runners I find. It has to do with the light and relaxed stride I have I think. I really don't run "with my legs" but rather with my hips and a forward lean. Think ChiRunning. No power running here. I think this puts me at a disadvantage in windy conditions but that's just a theory.
The first mile was a bunch of elite Kenyan women, myself, Greg, and some other local boys. 5:10. We then turned into the wind and things got choppy. 5:22. I knew it would be a long day. Greg slowly pulled away and I couldn't bridge the gap, which only got worse after we rounded Haine's point and straight back into the wind. Luckily we were only into the wind for about half the race. But boy it was bad when we were. I ended up running about 4 miles of the race alone. Luckily by mile 8 two taller and more muscular guys who I believe to be Graham and Carlos came by me and I latched on, after running a 5:44 mile into the wind. I was able to save face and kick it in hard to catch Jerry and finish 29th, worse than I did last year in 26th, with two women beating me, just like last year.
Not a bad run given the conditions. And of course time is worthless on a day like this. Just look at the overall guys' times. usually 45-46 minutes wins it. This year the winning time was 48:26. so that's about 2-3 minutes off. I would say I would have at least gone sub 52:00 on a calm day but of course there is no way to know for sure. That's running for you and by association life. You put in months of work for the "perfect" day which comes about once or twice a year. Like Outkast says, you can plan a pretty picnic but you can't predict the weather.
The point is to keep trudging forward and be thankful to be healthy enough to be out there enjoying it. My day will come whe the miles are easy and the times are fast. It's only a matter of time. You just have to keep moving forward and keep puting in the work. Never give up. That's how winning is done. Whether you finish first or not is irrelevant.
PM: 1 hr pool run for recovery
Results
My enhanced RunPix Result
Photo credit to Cheryl Young
Greg Pulling away during mile 4
Feeling strong with the wind at my back
Into the wind at the finish, I made it past Jerry but Buze Diriba from Ethiopia was too much. Yea I know, I was beaten by a woman. But she was tough man. Props to her. Ripped my legs to shreds with that last kick.
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