If you had a choice between beer and sangria on a balcony versus a possible PR at a not-so-important 4M race the next day, which would you choose? Yeah, it was a no-brainer for me as well. So, it should come as no surprise to anyone that today’s Mother’s Day race wouldn’t be so stellar for me. Yet, despite breaking my pre-race abstinence rule the day before, forgetting to hydrate or eat afterwards, getting home past midnight, and rushing to the start with just an orange for breakfast, I STILL thought a PR could be possible. What can I say? I’m stubborn that way.
The astute among you should have realized by now that I’ve been racing somewhat frequently this past month. Given that I have not yet fully recovered from my crash and burn at the Boston Marathon three weeks ago, ran a half-marathon PR at Long Branch last week, and is now running this four-miler on Mother’s Day, that’s a whole lot of racing going on. I know practically, I should be resting this week in preparation for the bigger race, the Healthy Kidney 10K, happening next weekend, but realistically I just had to enter and run this race because the sponsor is R Baby and all proceeds go toward improving the quality of care of babies in emergency rooms all over the city. I have both worked and consulted on cases of babies being mishandled and misdiagnosed in emergency rooms because of lack of appropriate staffing and supervision and so the cause was near and dear to my heart. Because of that, I had to run this race no matter how inconvenient it might have be to the rest of my running schedule.
With that background, I arrived at the start with some angst and trepidation. The weather was perfect for running this morning-58 degrees with sunny skies and a cool westerly breeze. I met many of my friends (some who’ve never run a race before) at the entrance to the start, congratulated everyone for running, and situated myself in the front of the corrals.
By the time the squealing horn signaled the start of the race, I found myself somewhat boxed in on the side of the road. I waited for an opening to pass but never got a chance until we reached Cat Hill. I managed to find my pace somewhere during the climb, but my effort was somewhat harder than I expected. After cresting the hill, I eased my breathing through the net downhill second mile. Although my pace was somewhat better in this stretch, I still struggled to synchronous my breathing to my turnover. This was somewhat frustrating since I’m usually at my peak by the start of the second mile. Instead, here, with the tough hilly Mile 3 up ahead, I knew I was in trouble. I made the turn at the 102nd street Transverse knowing I was on PR pace but fading fast. I made it through the third mile as best I could, but never found the right breathing rhythm or the power to drive the hills that I’m accustomed to. As a result, I ran a very slow 3rd mile and by the end, knew a PR would not be in the works for me that day. I ran mile 4 in a semi-daze, feeling as if I had no energy to push. My legs were sore, perhaps as the aftermath of the 20+ miles I had ran Thursday and Friday, and just not responding to my commands to speed up. I could also still feel some mild tightness in my right hamstring which affected my stride. In the end, I sort of stumbled through the finish line rather than race through like I always imagined I would. The final time was 24:45, about 7 seconds slower than my PR. I’m slightly peeved, but knew I made many mistakes in the past 24 hours that affected my performance.
Oh well. Sometimes you have to allow yourself to live a little and not be a P.R. hog in EVERY race. I’ll do things right this week and prepare for a better performance in a more important race next Saturday.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there. Soak in this beautiful day for all it’s worth.
Mile-by-Mile Splits:
Mile 1: 6:10
Mile 2: 6:05
Mile 3: 6:22
Mile 4: 6:08
Final Statistics:
Finishing Time - 24:45
Average Pace - 6:11
Overall Place - 33/4635
Age Group Place - 9
Age-Graded % - 68.8%
21 comments:
That's a very worthy cause indeed.
Overall Place - 33/4635...
Dude, that's a nice looking stat.
Just think how much beer and sangria those 4602 runners behind you must have had!
I was one of them, and I can't remember any beer or sangria..... uh oh...
Glad you are not bummed about not PR-ing. You still ran a great race. I can't imagine racing the day after a beer + sangria combo - a PR in of itself:) Ana-Maria
I love the term "PR hog!" I can relate. I love to PR.
Please tell me you enjoyed the beer and sangria afterward...
Good race!
I would have chosen the beer and sangria too :) Even if you didn't PR (which is perfectly acceptable!) you did great and it was for a very worthy cause.
The short races are a lot of fun. I think it's important to be out there and running even if you know you aren't going to be able to do your best. I was really bummed that I missed today's race -- Stupid taper... Anyway, good luck in the Healthy Kidney next week. That should be a good one too.
Wow -- 33rd place is impressive!
DANG! That is a pretty great showing, considering the race eve festivities--perhaps I should give the Sangria + Beer pre-race meal a shot! And 33rd place? AMAZING!
excellent run and for a wonderful cause. I bet next year you can drink the night before and PR, I believe its in you.
Everyone wants to be a PR hog!! You still ran a great race though! Your 4 mile time is just a little slower than my current 3 mile time right now since I currently only in shape to run 0.5 miles! hehe! have a good week!
hey all of that the night before and only 7 secs off the PR... not too bad :)
that is not bad at all! 4 mile races are weird anyway-- too long for 5k pace and too short for 10k-- I can NEVER find my legs during them. You did awesome though-- especially since you had fun the night before!
def a great cause :) i'm with aron - 7 secs off a pr, with pre-race partying, oh AND the boston marathon AND a half-pr let's not forget those. way to gut it out. awesome job - whether or not you consider all the factors!
I have zero experience running 4 milers but those splits seem very fast indeed.
You probably should cut your body some slack considering all the racing you've been doing, let it bounce back rejuvenated and stronger.
LOL I would have done the same thing! Except I would have been MUCH more than 7 seconds off my PR!
Excellent cause. And great results! I lurve me some sangria - I would've been stumbling around with a ginormous headache.
Subtract a beer and you have a PR for sure! Good race!
I would've chosen the sangria as well! Seven seconds over on non-ideal "prep" time is awesome! Plus, it's all about the little ones. :) This comment sounds way too "peppy"! !...!
Great cause I am glad you got to run it.
To me you will always be really really fast runner!!!
Next time??
I love the word peeved!
Nice job on the beer and sangria :-) OK, and the speedy race!
When do you rest? Sheesh, if I were your legs I would boycott.
(Good work friend.)
Post a Comment