Previous PR: 6:14 (Resolution Run, 1/1/17)
90% Goal: 6:45
50% Goal: 6:15
10% Goal: 6:00
Result: 7:34 (no, that's not a typo)
Goals:
After a 6:14 mile at New Year's Day where I still felt like I had more in the tank, I set a goal of hitting 6:00 in 2017. My first attempt (Little King's Mile) was foiled by an injury. When the course for the Braves One Mile was published, it seemed like a reasonable second attempt.
Training:
Three weeks of training, including three main workouts (300/100, 200/200, tempo), some slacking on strength training (due to holidays, travel, and work), and a LOT of stretching and foam rolling.
Preparation:
A week before the race, I was already preparing for the day. Jerry wasn't going to be there (since he was coaching the training program), but my parents were going to walk the one mile with baby potato in the backpack carrier. Though this freed me from finding a sitter and gave me extra time to spend with the little one, it also proved to be additional race-morning stress, because this is what my plan looked like:
Night before: load stroller, diaper bag
· 5:00am up, bth, eat, stretch, dress
o Black Lulu shorts
o Lulu bra
o Teal or black sweaty band
o Singlet
o bibe belt
· 5:30am get baby up, dressed, sunscreened
o Plaid, ATC, Clem hat
· 6am Depart house
· 6:30am park
o Stroller
o Snack bin
o Refills for snack
o sunscreen
o Water
o Stuffed animal
o Diaper bag w/(diapers, cream, wipes, mat, wet bag, spare shorts, spare shirt, sunhat, silverware, placemats)
o Ergo
· 7:20am- pass baby off if able
· 7:30am warm-up or 5K
· 8:00am get baby adjusted in carrier
· 8:30am start
· 8:06am finish, recovery jog
o Calf sleeves for recovery
o Change of shirt
o Change of shorts
Race Morning
I found out on Thursday that the 5K course had changed. Instead of being kinda hilly, it now included several killer hills. I was already on the fence about doing a 3mi warm-up for a 1mi race, and the course change solidified my decision to skip the 5K and just take an easy, unorganized jog for my warm-up.
After arriving at the venue on race morning, I found out the one mile course changed too. There were now six turns, one hair pin, and a demoralizing hill that encompassed about 1/4-1/3 of the course.
 |
| Sent to Coach pre-race Her response: WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY? |
Race
I knew at the start line that my 6:00 mile was not going to happen on that course. Still, I thought I could manage a sub-7. Part of me still thought of that hill as "The Hill" on the 10KTuesday route. If I could sprint up that beast at the end of a 10K, surely I could get up this one at the end of a mere mile. The other part had already checked out.
I was hoping to at least see a handful of other adults at the start line, maybe a Masters Elite or two, like there were last year. The one mile race wasn't chip-timed, and was really geared more towards older kids than adults, though. I think I saw maybe a dozen total adults... most of them running with their kids. Hahaha.
 |
| Oh, did I mention I finally decided to join the #SportsBraSquad? At least there's one 2017 goal I accomplished today :) |
The gun went off and it was me and two kids off the start line. I had one of them literally swerve in front of me when I was going to pass him. He shot me a dirty look, despite the fact that we had the ENTIRE road. I inwardly rolled my eyes and had the breath to say, "please don't cut me off, I don't want either of us to trip and fall" aloud.
As we headed towards Circle 75 from the start line, we hit a downhill. I don't know how to sprint down hills. I don't think I've ever done it. Normally, in a race, I do this weird gallop thing, that ends up being around a 6:30-7:00/mi, much faster than my typical race pace, so it helps. In this race, it actually slowed me down... and I didn't know how how to run run down a hill without slowing myself to something closer to my normal pace. Strike 1.
Turning onto Circle 75, I was completely and totally alone at the front of the milers. This was STRANGE. I found it hard to make the turns and keep pace, since they're much tighter than the turns on a track. I was also starting to wonder how much freaking longer it would be until my watch beeped to tell me I'd done 0.25mi. Turns out, it already had, but I didn't know it until I looked on Windy Ridge and saw a 0.38.
I'm glad I ran the course ahead of time. It helped me break it up into mental chunks, which wasn't quite as good as laps on a track, but was beneficial. Nothing really prepared me for the hard climb up the hill, though. I knew Blitz, a 10KT runner, was stationed there to help me, but, even that wasn't enough. I had a small climb to do solo before I met him, and I knew my paced had slowed too much to recover.
He did a GREAT job trying to motivate me, but I'd already checked out. I kept a good pace up the hill, but not a mile race pace by any stretch of the imagination. As I turned into the stadium, I saw MORE 10KT-ers screaming from the stands, which gave me a little more drive... well, that, and it being FLAT.
 |
| It's a pretty cool feeling to run a race in a stadium you were the structural engineer for. |
Reflections
 |
| Can we pretend this is a half marathon finish pic? I'd take 1:12:05 :D |
I crossed the line first, which should have been exciting... except:
- I literally had zero competition
- This was my slowest mile race EVER
- My mile repeats are faster than I ran this race
- This was nowhere near the race I'd wanted today
What Went Wrong
1) The course. I knew it was a road race, and would have some turns and hills. I didn't know I'd have six of them, a hairpin, and a beast of a hill to close. I also think the course was long. It was untimed and not USTAF-certified, so it makes sense that it wouldn't be exactly 1.0. My watch said 1.16, and that's not really within the tolerance I'd expect.
2) The participants. I knew I wouldn't have many other adults when I signed up. I didn't realize how much that would affect me, though. I get motivation from competition, and the next time I do this, I need some other people running remotely close to my pace.
3) The responsibilities. For practical purposes, I felt like I was taking care of three people on race day: my parents and my son. I needed to make sure they knew where to be when, and that was enough to put my pre-race/post-race routine (and, therefore, my focus) in a funk.
4) Work and other stress this week + poor nutrition + poor sleep, for various reasons, certainly didn't help either.
What Went Right
1) I had support. I had 10KTuesdayers pumping me up at the start, believing in me, staying late to cheer for me, helping my parents, helping with the stroller, running me up the hill, screaming for me in the stadium, etc.
2) I trained well... just not for the course I was given. I felt so strong at my 200s and 300s this past week on the track.
3) I had a PR first 800m... by 20s.
4) I still believe I can run a 6:00. Now, to look for other opportunities.... The best thing about the mile is that you need so little recovery time, especially when you really sign off at the halfway point. :P
 |
| Blue = pace Green = elevation |
No comments:
Post a Comment