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Saturday, August 6, 2011

Frustration (Re-cap of Blue Pts 5k)

I'm writing this days after the race, so it's hard to capture the true emotion I felt right after the race.

Had a good speghetti dinner and beers and wine the night before, and was in bed and asleep by 10:30pm. That's good. My legs felt fresh from my most recent easy jog on Thursday. That's good. I got to the race on time, and was able to warm up exactly how I watned. That's good. However, the weather was warm, and VERY humid, as we had a storm blow through the day before. That's not good.

As the gun went off, I found myself try and find my pace, yet I noticed I was in the group of runners who useually are in the low to mid 17s. That's probably not real good. Anyway, I didn't back off too much, and low and behold I hit the fastest 1 mile split I have had this year by 10 secs (5:30). Good, I thought at the time, not good now looking back.

As the group I was just behind started to move on, and I started to back off, I could tell that the first mile was going to give way to a tough rest of the race. I don't know how long I felt "okay", maybe a mile and a half, but as soon as we turned up Morehead (long hill of a road) I already knew I was done for. Having this kind of thought didn't make matter any better. People started to catch me, and pass me. In the last race, when the one person who came up to me got beside me, I went with him and was able to race the rest of the course. Opposite of that was true for this 5k.

Still, I hit 11:30 at the 2 mile mark, and my pace at this point combined put me in good posistion for a seasonal PR, but I knew before I hit that 2 mile split that I was fading. More people passed me, and slower I became.

I wasn't able to fight, and mentally I threw in the towel. It wasn't racing. It was aweful. I would pass people cheering and taking pictures, and would joke arounud with them as I passed. I was not into it after mile 1. Yea, the first mile was a mistake and took out my legs, but I think my up and down training gave way this race, which can't be avoided from time to time. At three miles the clock hit 18:09, and I immediatly thought back to my 3 mile split in the RFYL 4 mile race where I hit 17:30, and realized what a sad performance this was.

Thinking back, at Great Harvest and the RFYL 4 miler a few weeks ago, when I hit the first mile, I knew I had another gear and could start racing. At this race, when I hit the first mile, I knew I couldn't go faster, and could only HOPE to hold on. So, again, I need to learn to be true to my training (which isn't much) and respect that and go out slower, and try and keep it more even. That's part of it. I think the other part is that I was able to skate by and run off fresh legs at Great Harvest and the RFYL 4Miler, because my training during those weeks leading up to it was very minimal.

My training recently has been a little more consistent, with-out bachelor party and 4th of July trips, so my legs might not be ready for peak performances, and when you combine that with too agressive first miles, not to mention some of the worst racing weather we have had with the humidity, it kind of gives reason as to why I couldn't keep my legs going.

But mentally, it was not a good effort. So, I have 3 races left, and I am focused on finishing the series on a high note. Dedication to long runs, and consistant training, and workouts and keeping my mileage higher and still looking to build, as there are still a couple of months to go.

With .1 to go in the race, more people came up to me, and this time I fought them off. I closed in 32 secs, which is my best .1 of the year, so that right there tells me I just folded mentally.

Miles for day: 7
Race: 18.42
Pace: 601 (530, 600, 639, 32)

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