hurray for tapering!

Today was my last weekend run before Steamtown. I had 12 on my schedule, and there was a 12.4 (20K) race in town, so I decided to run it. I’ve been disappointed in my training lately, but not wanting to overcompensate and jeopardize things.

I went out today thinknig I wanted to run between a 7:45-8:00 pace.. so about marathon pace. Yes, for most people, probably not prudent the week before the marathon, but I know my ability to recover, and I figured this would make up for some of the speedwork I missed out on.

The day started off CHILLY!!! I had planned to wear a long sleeved shirt and take it off before the run, but I ended up keeping it on for the first mile or so. By the end of the race, it was absolutely gorgeous.

My garmin USB thingy is acting up, so I don’t have my precise splits right now, but I felt really good. Started out ‘easy’, which is so rare for me, but so important! With every mile I felt increasingly stronger.

The night before, I had tried to prepare myself for a race: eating pasta, drinking gatorade and setting out GU. They were actually giving some clif shots away on the course, so I had two half-packs of GU (mile 3 and mile 7).

At the turn around point, there were 6 girls ahead of me. Hmmm, so top 3 overall, top 3 in my age group. I figured that if I wanted to ensure I placed, I needed to be no later than 6th. And thus I had something to occupy my thoughts for the rest of the race.

As time went on, I noticed my splits were faster and faster. I was really feeling great! I passed girls 6, 5 and 4. With two miles to go, it seemed like the miles started going slower, but I kept pushing. I had a brief thought of Helen, who was running the Wooster Half at the same time. I was pretty sure if I’d run a half marathon, I would have PRed…

With about 1.5 miles to go, I passed a few schoolgirls congregating on a corner. I was speeding down the bike path, and passed a walker, who must have given up. I was really all on my own running, feeling great.

And then the path ended at Main St… where I was CERTAIN I hadn’t gotten on the path on the ‘out’ part of the ‘out-and-back’. I stopped. And I realized with sinking spirits that I’d gotten lost. I thought of those few girls by the trail, wondered if they were supposed to be there to signal the correct way. I looked up and down the road, not really wanting to backtrack. I ran back a little ways until I met up with the walker. “This isn’t the way of the race, is it?” “No….”. He asked if I had been targeting a specific time, or if I wanted to know the shortcut back to the finish. Obviously by this time I was NOT going to be the 3rd girl overall, but I also didn’t want not to finish the race. So I trudged back and lo and behold, there were now pylons (orange cones, for the Americans) blocking the route I was coming from. I think the girls probably saw me go the wrong way, but rather than tell me, they just ensured no one else made the same mistake…

I rejoined the race just before the 11 mile marker, while my watch had me at past 12 miles. I passed a few girls, but they certainly weren’t former Misses 6,5 or 4. Adding an extra 8 minutes to a race can really make a difference 🙁

I still finished strong, although when a well-meaning police officer told me “you’re rounding 3rd base and heading for home”, I grumbled a bit that “if I hadn’t made a mile detour, I’d be done!”

I made sure to hit my watch at 13.1, as I got my half marathon in. However, standing on Main St figuring this all out in my head probably prevented me from actually setting an unofficial half PR.

I finished strong, hitting my maxHR of 197 in the final stretch.

It was a gorgeous day for a run, I felt good and strong, despite the fact I didn’t place. I still know that pace-wise, I did really well. I’m glad I did a formal race, and I feel ‘in the game’ for next week.

Hurrah!

Oh, got my garmin splits:
total distance: 13.55
time: 1:45:05
pace: 7:45mm

1: 8:04
2: 7:52
3: 8:03
4: 7:50
5: 7:50
6: 7:44
7: 7:41
8: 7:39
9: 7:39
10: 7:37
11: 7:36
12: 8:15 (where I realized I messed up)
13: 7:23
13.1: 7:09 pace
13.55: 6:47 pace

So my time after 13.1 was 1:42:01, which is like 5 seconds off my PR. Totally could have bettered it if I had planned for it. If I take my average time for the run I did nd figure out my finish time if I’d run 12.4, it would be 1:36:10. So NOT THAT I’M COMPETITIVE, I’m going to have to check to see how I’d have placed… 🙂

Oh well.. I hadn’t been aiming for a PR race: my goals were to focus on preparing for a race, working on fueling during the run, and doing one last “fast” effort. I definitely succeeded at that! 🙂