Strong Legs
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Racing the 20 Mile Distance/Cheeseburger
I'll be totally honest, racing the 20 mile distance was incredibly fun~I could run that distance regularly if the schedule were clear and the calendar wide open but no one has the time for that and these days if I want to log miles at all I'm on the bike, we all have lots we want to accomplish inside of everyday, which is why I'm sitting at the terminal at 2:08 a.m. and writing this blog---the entry wasn't even nagging at me but I had difficulty sleeping and arguing with sleep is not productive so I rise from the bed, make hot cider and doctor up photo ...
Racing the 20 mile distance didn't even cause me much worry compared with other things going on in my life, I came to the start warm (after a quick change into shorts), happy, refreshed, with Sharkies and GU and had a tempo performance in mind; I loved the man at the half split as I strode by he said 'You're half way there! Only 10 miles to go!" I couldn't believe I had only 10 miles left to run --this is the best race ever-- no half split, just a man ...
My pace is pretty good overall, but this pace goes directly to hell for the remaining 6.2 miles of the marathon distance race, had this race been a marathon my pace would have steadily declined worsening for every mile after mile 22 or 24, god that is what makes the marathon such a pain, really the biggest challenge for me, I actually want to do well, want to say I could run the Boston course because I deserve it but that has been an elusive performance goal for all 3 marathons I've run; SO ....
This year, 2012, will be the year of racing 3 marathons that means I'm still on a mission to find that performance that will qualify me as a decent competitor as a runner all around; the epiphany from today's 32 mile bike ride came on heavy and I'm certain that its message is rooted in the stuff I was taught as a youngster: practice, practice, practice makes perfect, training is kinda fun and kinda snooty, but racing and putting forth the most extraordinary effort you can muster is not only a one way ticket to hell in the marathon for some like myself, but also and more importantly has the makings of personal records, wonderful division standings, sweat soaked workout gear and incredibly yummy, well deserved cheeseburgers (with crumbled bleu and sauteed mushrooms on it) ...
I placed 24th in my division of 96 women ages 40-49.
(Special thanks to the firefighter from Mass. who passed me at mile 6 which reminded me that I should be/could be running his pace so I picked it up, followed his heel for 2 miles, initiated the epic re-pass and never saw him again)
Racing the 20 mile distance didn't even cause me much worry compared with other things going on in my life, I came to the start warm (after a quick change into shorts), happy, refreshed, with Sharkies and GU and had a tempo performance in mind; I loved the man at the half split as I strode by he said 'You're half way there! Only 10 miles to go!" I couldn't believe I had only 10 miles left to run --this is the best race ever-- no half split, just a man ...
My pace is pretty good overall, but this pace goes directly to hell for the remaining 6.2 miles of the marathon distance race, had this race been a marathon my pace would have steadily declined worsening for every mile after mile 22 or 24, god that is what makes the marathon such a pain, really the biggest challenge for me, I actually want to do well, want to say I could run the Boston course because I deserve it but that has been an elusive performance goal for all 3 marathons I've run; SO ....
This year, 2012, will be the year of racing 3 marathons that means I'm still on a mission to find that performance that will qualify me as a decent competitor as a runner all around; the epiphany from today's 32 mile bike ride came on heavy and I'm certain that its message is rooted in the stuff I was taught as a youngster: practice, practice, practice makes perfect, training is kinda fun and kinda snooty, but racing and putting forth the most extraordinary effort you can muster is not only a one way ticket to hell in the marathon for some like myself, but also and more importantly has the makings of personal records, wonderful division standings, sweat soaked workout gear and incredibly yummy, well deserved cheeseburgers (with crumbled bleu and sauteed mushrooms on it) ...
I placed 24th in my division of 96 women ages 40-49.
(Special thanks to the firefighter from Mass. who passed me at mile 6 which reminded me that I should be/could be running his pace so I picked it up, followed his heel for 2 miles, initiated the epic re-pass and never saw him again)
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