Well, what can you do? Life goes on and I'll go back & watch the video later. Neither American won and the single widowed mom faded out, but they were still inspiring and still top notch on my list. The thing about running is not always about who crossed the finish line first. I'm happy for those that do and it's even better when it's someone I'm cheering for. Finishing 4th or 6th or whatever place doesn't matter. They are still #1 to me!
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Last Saturday I ran the Carl Sandburg College Charger Challenge 2 mile race. I really wanted to PR on this race regardless of who I was or wasn't against. It was me vs. the clock, that's it.
I felt confident that I would do well, but race morning my timing was a little off and instead of having a lot of pre race time to warm up, get ready, etc. I was rushed. I *hate* that feeling! I also felt torn in a few directions as I had my son, my students, my running partner and many other running friends who were all there to race. I wanted to give them each their own attention, but also just wanted to focus on me. I knew I had to be on my A game to pull a PR.
Once the race got underway I took off. I'm completely fine with spending my time before and after with other people, but once that gun goes off I am in my own world and I am not taking anyone else along for the ride. I led the women from the get go. It wasn't an all out sprint from the beginning, but I was really pushing it. I refused to play catch up if it was because of my taking it easy.
I had 2 things working against me. Wind and hills. In my pre-race goals I mentioned my recent interval training of 6/6:30 pace. Being that those have been done on a treadmill I definitely don't have any wind resistance and my hills are none except the .5 elevation I put on the machine. Nothing compared to the hills I faced out on the race course. There was also plenty of flat areas, so it wasn't all hills. Enough that I could feel myself slow down as I worked up the first big hill which came right before the mile turn around. My first mile split was 6:44. Very neutral feeling as I heard that time. Would have loved to hear 6:30, but I was glad that it was well under 7 minutes.
Coming back I had another minor hill that was much easier than the first one and the wind was to my back. Now it was up to me to keep my pace going and finish strong. A few times I did have that slight feeling of being done, but I still pushed especially as I got closer to finish. I remember thinking about giving everything I had until I crossed the line. While I certainly hoped for 13:30, I was not disappointed at all to cross the line at 13:40. Another PR!!!! I was the 1st female to finish (out of 47) and 4th overall (out of 66).
I looped back out to watch my son, friends and students come up along the course. I also wanted to log a few more miles for my run for the day. I walked some, especially the last part as one of my students had rolled her ankle and needed some personal support to even finish. Seeing her cross the finish line was a great accomplishment!
Afterwards at the award ceremony was relaxing and rewarding as well. Not because I received ANOTHER trophy, but just to sit back and enjoy the company of my friends and other racers. That's always a bonus to an already great race!
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Hanging with some good friends: Angela (my running partner), Julia & Kimmie
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Congratulations on your new PR and being first woman overall! Hooray for your son taking first in his age group! I'd love to do a 2-mile race. That sounds like a nice short distance to give it all you've got and see how speedy you can be.
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