And just like that, the 2019 race season is underway! Saturday Greg and I ran in what was previously known as Johnny's Running of the Green - even though the sponsoring pub no longer runs it, a new sponsor, Rochester Running Company, took over. This race is pretty much the season opener for the Roc running season - its relatively short (5 miles), only has one incline, and features shots on the course and post race green bagels and green beer. What's not to like?
I've raced this course many times - 2006-2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and last in 2015, when I was pregnant with Biz. The past few years life with two kids, ultra training, and a slew of dumb excuses got in the way, but with my spring marathon approaching, I decided I needed to at least race before it, even if it was short compared to a marathon.
With that in mind, I took stock of my previous PR of 38:06 and knew I could break it unless the weather was horrible or I was incredibly stupid. I set the goal of going under a 7:30 pace, which, the day before the race, my sensei advised me was aiming low and gave me a new goal: sub 7:20 minute miles, or 36:35. Which I duly noted race morning in the most profesh way:
Race morning dawned windy and cold, with temps in the low 30s - after the winter we have had, I would totally take it. I forwent my usual breakfast of oats and ate a bagel with butter - cause, you know, trying new things on race day is always wise. Greg and I dropped the kids off with our cousin who lives by Highland Park, and made our way to the Blue Cross arena.
This is the best race for socializing - as the official kick off of the Roc running season, 1200 of our best friends were ready to run, drink beer, and take shots on course. We caught up with a bunch of old friends, and new ones, including Barry, a fellow Reaper who offered me a pre race beer, and when I declined, insisted on a pre race swig of beer (what is wrong with me - I hate beer when not racing, but the moment called, so there you go) and some of the Tri-Go guys (The Boy and the Outlaw....seriously...these guys should just take it to Hollywood) - I also met the Girl and the Girl's brother - what a great group. We hung out for awhile with a few fellow runners, did our pre race warm ups and got ready to go! I made a last minute decision to fore go the bun huggers - not sure if it had more to do with the weather or my hesitancy to race in my underwear be less aerodynamic, but hey, there's always next time.
With ten minutes to go, we headed out to line up and I found my buddy Ken, who I clearly have attachment issues with during workouts. He let me know he was aiming for a sub 35 minute finish, which was out of my reach, but I figured I could see where he started and go from there. The gun sounded, and we were off!
My instructions pre race were to start with a 7:30 mile and try to descend - I didn't have the heart to admit that I would never follow this; there is so much adrenaline in the first mile of a race that my goal was to not blow up so I screwed the rest of the race. I caught up with the Boy and ran with him for about half a mile until I realized he was holding a 6:35 pace, which was just stupid for me. Hit mile 1 in 6:42, feelin' good in a holy shit did I just do that way. Then the wind started to pick up, and the bearable crosswind turned into a headwind. Mile 2 was a little rougher, clocking in at 7:11, and I finally resolved the online debate I'd been a part of for the last few nights - "Is a 5 mile race a long 5k or a short 10k?" Answer: It's a short 10k. Don't go balls out like a 5k, you moron.
Miles 2-3 were the worst of the race, running wise, best of the race in terms of people - the course does a u-ey at mile 2.5, which was a crappy uphill stint, but awesome in terms of seeing all the fasties come out before you turned around and all the people behind you as you came back toward the finish. I started counting women and figured I was in 14th place at that point, which was unfathomable as I guessed there were hundreds of women at this race (there were 592, to be exact). On my way back I saw Ken, who was about 10 seconds behind me and yelled at me to not let him catch me, and Greg who was looking awesome! Hit mile 3 in 21:10, and realized I was gonna PR in the 5k during this race - which I soon did, in 21:42. Mile 4 was GLORIOUS. The wind at my back, on my way back to the finish, slight downhill for a net mile 4 of 6:56.
I then realized I would likely go under 36:00. Until that pre race beer started coming back up. F*CK. I braved the incline of the Ford St. bridge and felt like I was gonna die....got passed by the only woman to pass me during the race here (god i hope she want in my AG - WHY DO RUNNING RACES NOT PUT AGES ON CALVES). With half a mile to go, I decided to lay it all out on the table and just GO. Fleet Feet cheered me on with their awesomeness with a quarter mile to go and I laid down the hammer. Hit mile 5 in 6:52 and since I can't run tangents to save my soul, I crossed the finish line in 35:24 - 5.05 miles with an average pace of 7:01. I immediately dry heaved on the side of the road, a sure sign I actually raced with all I had.
Post race, I jogged back through the race course to cheer Greg on, who set a new PR of just over 41 minutes. Caught up with some buddies of ours, including Ken, who I somehow managed to vade and come in seconds ahead of....how, I don't even know. Caught up with the Tri Go fam, who finished super strong in 32 minutes and 33 minutes, respectively - (I really need to cash in on that piggy back ride next time). Found Barry and expressed my gratefulness of the PR beer (PBR??) and "bought" him a beer in return.
Checked the results and HOLY SHIT I came in 2nd in my age group. How the heck did that happen? I have never even come close to placing in this race. I did what any rational person would do and checked out 1st place to find I had missed it by 3 seconds. WTF. I did a little mental gymnastics to think if that was the chick that passed me at mile 4….and I don’t think so. Either way, after beating myself up a bit, I realized I 100% gave it my best and made peace with it.
Stuck around for the award ceremony to collect the goods and found out that less than 20 seconds separated place 1 and place 4 in my AG – which is insane. I also found out I was 15th overall women out of 600 which just blows my mind. I immediately felt better about my missed 1st placed and posed for pics with the amazing fasties that placed in their age group.
After the race I headed out for a 4 mile easy run and a day full of fun with family – what a great season opener – I couldn’t be more pleased. What does this mean for my marathon in 2 weeks? I have no clue. A 5 miler and marathon have so little in common that it’s tough to guess. But the confidence is there to give it my best shot, so this “pre game” race was totally worth it. Runnin’ of the Green for the win!
I've raced this course many times - 2006-2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and last in 2015, when I was pregnant with Biz. The past few years life with two kids, ultra training, and a slew of dumb excuses got in the way, but with my spring marathon approaching, I decided I needed to at least race before it, even if it was short compared to a marathon.
With that in mind, I took stock of my previous PR of 38:06 and knew I could break it unless the weather was horrible or I was incredibly stupid. I set the goal of going under a 7:30 pace, which, the day before the race, my sensei advised me was aiming low and gave me a new goal: sub 7:20 minute miles, or 36:35. Which I duly noted race morning in the most profesh way:
Race morning dawned windy and cold, with temps in the low 30s - after the winter we have had, I would totally take it. I forwent my usual breakfast of oats and ate a bagel with butter - cause, you know, trying new things on race day is always wise. Greg and I dropped the kids off with our cousin who lives by Highland Park, and made our way to the Blue Cross arena.
This is the best race for socializing - as the official kick off of the Roc running season, 1200 of our best friends were ready to run, drink beer, and take shots on course. We caught up with a bunch of old friends, and new ones, including Barry, a fellow Reaper who offered me a pre race beer, and when I declined, insisted on a pre race swig of beer (what is wrong with me - I hate beer when not racing, but the moment called, so there you go) and some of the Tri-Go guys (The Boy and the Outlaw....seriously...these guys should just take it to Hollywood) - I also met the Girl and the Girl's brother - what a great group. We hung out for awhile with a few fellow runners, did our pre race warm ups and got ready to go! I made a last minute decision to fore go the bun huggers - not sure if it had more to do with the weather or my hesitancy to
With ten minutes to go, we headed out to line up and I found my buddy Ken, who I clearly have attachment issues with during workouts. He let me know he was aiming for a sub 35 minute finish, which was out of my reach, but I figured I could see where he started and go from there. The gun sounded, and we were off!
My instructions pre race were to start with a 7:30 mile and try to descend - I didn't have the heart to admit that I would never follow this; there is so much adrenaline in the first mile of a race that my goal was to not blow up so I screwed the rest of the race. I caught up with the Boy and ran with him for about half a mile until I realized he was holding a 6:35 pace, which was just stupid for me. Hit mile 1 in 6:42, feelin' good in a holy shit did I just do that way. Then the wind started to pick up, and the bearable crosswind turned into a headwind. Mile 2 was a little rougher, clocking in at 7:11, and I finally resolved the online debate I'd been a part of for the last few nights - "Is a 5 mile race a long 5k or a short 10k?" Answer: It's a short 10k. Don't go balls out like a 5k, you moron.
I then realized I would likely go under 36:00. Until that pre race beer started coming back up. F*CK. I braved the incline of the Ford St. bridge and felt like I was gonna die....got passed by the only woman to pass me during the race here (god i hope she want in my AG - WHY DO RUNNING RACES NOT PUT AGES ON CALVES). With half a mile to go, I decided to lay it all out on the table and just GO. Fleet Feet cheered me on with their awesomeness with a quarter mile to go and I laid down the hammer. Hit mile 5 in 6:52 and since I can't run tangents to save my soul, I crossed the finish line in 35:24 - 5.05 miles with an average pace of 7:01. I immediately dry heaved on the side of the road, a sure sign I actually raced with all I had.
Checked the results and HOLY SHIT I came in 2nd in my age group. How the heck did that happen? I have never even come close to placing in this race. I did what any rational person would do and checked out 1st place to find I had missed it by 3 seconds. WTF. I did a little mental gymnastics to think if that was the chick that passed me at mile 4….and I don’t think so. Either way, after beating myself up a bit, I realized I 100% gave it my best and made peace with it.
Nicely done you go girl
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Speedy!
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