Denouement

So this was a 10k I agreed to do just because the prizes seemed good and the Italia team needed a third woman.  Theoretically I'd have another chance to be ranked #1 in the 10k road standings in HK, but I'd have to break 36:34 and beat YKC if she showed up.  I figured the only way I would go that fast is if she showed up, then if she did she would put up a fight.  If I won and broke the course record (37:19, no prob) I would have gotten a polar watch, $9,000 in gear.  Not bad.  However, I was at a party until 11:35 the night before, and woke up groggy from an Ambien at 6:40 in the morning, so I downed 1.6 coke zero cans, brought two gus and hoped noone showed up for the race.  The HK running scene is small, there are really no surprise people except internationals.  In the bathroom line when I get there I see an African-looking woman (none here that run, just a youth, and this woman is not youth, more like me "seasoned").  So I know I have competition.  Then Thomas, our resident HK Kenyan, has another African woman with him, who I hear is a 2:37 marathoner (but when I talk to her she is really a 2:40 Kenyan).  Dang.  Two Kenyans.  Then on the warm up, I see Yiu Kit Ching.  Dang, so I am looking at fourth place is what I thought as I warmed up, because I am NOT feeling the eye of the tiger.  But also chanting in my ear is Coach Paul, who previously told me he didn't care who came to any race in Hong Kong, I needed to go with them.   So I figure, I am probably 4th place, but I will try to keep the Kenyans in touch.  So at the start, the Kenyans line up behind YKC and I.  

 

1-2	7:02 for first 2k	YKC leads for the first 100m, then the Kenyans leap ahead, and I pass YKC to try to keep touch but they are going fast. I don't catch my 1k split. I am in second place but catch up to the 2nd Kenyan as we hit the little hill to the twin bridges, I draft up the hill, then pass her, this is at about 1.75k
3	3:38	Figure I will pay for that start, but there is an orange shirt guy running strong, and there is some headwind so I try to stick with him
4	3:33
5	3:36	I look about 20-30 seconds behind #1 at the turn around, don't pay attention to where the ladies behind me are, feeling like I am going to pay for this start!, 17:50 at turn around
6	3:34	feeling like I can't keep this up, but trying to delay the slow down to decrease the chances of being caught, having to surge occasionally to keep up with orange shirt
7	3:37	Trying to keep up with orange shirt, so hard, surging occasionally, telling myself if I can keep 3:40 then YKC won't be able to catch me (not sure that was true, but was motivating), trying to run smooth
8	3:32	perhaps some tailwind? orange shirt is doing even better and is breaking away, I know I want to change my watch to total time so that I can see if I can break 36
9	3:34	switch over to total time, with 1500m to go feeling like the wheels are coming off
10	3:22	PR on the line, I know this, pass orange shirt and other dude between the 500m and 400m mark when I surge, but then I back off at 300m to go, so tired, but then with 200m to go kick it in
10.04k total by my watch

 Second place but elation at the finish line. My watch showed 35:32 (but official is 35:34). I cannot believe I broke my 10k track time from college --1998.  I never thought I would touch that sucker.  So my prizes were so small compared to what I anticipated (the Kenyan is also in my age group) but the biggest prize of all, a PR at 35 years old, is mine :D  Long cool down with Curtis and a German running-tourist Henreich.

Additional note.  The Kenyan who beat me is also going to the Taipei half marathon next weekend so I will be racing her again.  I guess I better go out with her, eh? 

Had a busy day after the race, but had the adrenaline of the great race pushing me on.  Went home, changed, went to church for meeting, went almost to China for a Mahjong-going away party for my coach (I learned how to play mahjong today, it is so fun), went back home, made dinner, gathered the family, and we went back to church for an evening Christmas program.  Then making hot chocolate for dessert, then Walking Dead, then to bed. 

Note: my coach is leaving HK in one week.  I've known this for some time, but I am feeling it now.  There is currently no replacement coach (and even if there was, they would likely not be a long-distancey coach and it takes time to build repore).  So this time in my running is so bitter-sweet.  I am at my peak of running, in large part because I have a coach guiding me onthe track.  It is one thing to be email-coached and quite a different thing to be HURRAHED and yelled at on the track by a coach.  It reminds me so much of being Coach Shane's athlete, and I never thought I would have a coach on par with Coach Shane, but Coach Paul Wright IS and has been just what I needed. This is my last training season and right smack in the middle of it my coach is leaving. Doesn't this type of thing always happen?(Anklosing Spondolytis diagnosis/debacle in 2009, appendicitis 2010, moving to HK in 2011, losing coach midseason 2012).  However, he will email coach me (YAY! note sarcasm).  I will just need to surround myself with my running buddies for training partners, and pretend like I have someone yelling at me on the track, and not let this derail me!  You all can help as you always do :D

Easy 15.02k 4:49 ave pace.

3k revenge time trial, after a pretty bad attempt about 4 weeks ago.  On that day I wanted sub 10:00, a bit greedy, and did a 10:18, 5 seconds slower than my college indoor track PR.  

Today I had two guy pacers (Alfred and Ken), and a more modest goal of 10:10, which would still be a PR.  So the plan was go out no faster than 40 sec for the first 200m, then 81-82 per lap, so perhaps 5:25 at the mile.  Alfred was the primary pacer.  I was pretty nervous, but thought 10:10 was very doable. 5k warm up, lots of stretching, several strides (don't want to go into this type of workout cold).  First 200m was 37-38 (fast), first lap was 78-79 (fast), second lap was 82, at 1000m I told Alfred to pick it up, but the third lap worried me as we came in at 82-83 (per coaches calling, I wasn't lapping the watch), so I passed him and pushed the 4th lap and we came in for the mile at 5:22.  He took over in the 5th lap and ran strong the rest of the run, at around 79-80, and we were under at 7:21 with 800 to go, 8:00 with 600m to go, 8:39 with 400m to go, and 9:52 to finish!   Big improvement!  10 minutes of easy jogging, then 6 x 600m on/200m off cruise intervals at 88-90/lap pace.  Long cool down since I got lost (8k).

Three big PR's in three weeks, this sure is a golden period in my running.  This is a perfect start to my marathon training cycle.  By getting my speed up and already used to hard workouts, I should be able to do faster tempos which will lead to a faster marathon, right?  Couldn't have believed 4 months ago I would be where I am now.  Very very grateful.

4:57/k ave pace.  Core workout

Last workout on the track with Coach Paul.  Easy workout really.  Really came for the team gift exchange party and to say goodbye to Coach.  200's were 38 sec ave, a bit faster than the 40 coach wanted.  Ali was on fire and ahead of me for most of them.  I felt tired from bad sleep (my Paul is out of town) and from not eating enough (knew I would eat well at the party).  I gave away caviar face mask treatments, nothing like some good fish eggs spread all over your face.  I got some chocolate :D

10k on the tm plus running there and back. Core workout.

I am in Taiwan!  Big 1/2 marathon tomorrow.  The Kenyan from my last 10k will be there again.  My coach says to not look at my watch but to just race it.  Will do.  Glad that some friends are also in town because we will do dinner tonight.  It is lonely to travel alone (brilliant statement, I know).

7.3ish k at the Da'an Park. They call it Taipei's Central Park, but it is way smaller, because I can run around it in 2.25k, while Central Park is 10k around (I have heard, have never been there).