Dave's Run for ALS 5k

Uh, well, how much can I even say about a 5k? Let's find out.

So as I mentioned, this should have been a pretty fast course, however there was some pretty intense wind that would be in our faces for the first half of the race....so before we even started I knew it would be a little rough and probably not as fast as I hoped. I had walked around claiming that I was just running "for fun" and "didn't care about my time" (never true), and I figured the conditions would hold me to that lie.

Anyways as I said the wind was pretty intense the first mile and I tried real hard to stay with a pack. Luckily this was everyone else's plan as well so I actually did get to draft a little bit, although it didn't feel like it helped at all. About 1.5 miles in we turned so the wind was at our backs, and I have to say that it didn't feel like it helped me as much as the tailwind hurt. I also noticed throughout the entire race that I was not at all ready to run at a fast pace, and race pictures confirm that my marathon shuffle abides.

Note feet less than one centimeter off the ground

The last half mile or so was into the wind again, and let me tell you what it was rough. In the end I was pretty happy with my race: 3rd place female 19:22 (6:17, 6:05, 6:12, last 0.1 6:00).

Side note, 19:22 is my PR and this is the third race that I've run that exact time. It's good motivation to train hard for the next 5k, if I run 19:22 again I'm hanging up my 5k shoes for good.

Now what

Uh, so, I am having a bit of post-race depression, guys (she says to the empty internet room). This is not surprising, as there is a sudden void in my life left by the training & obsession. Right now I'm filling that void with junk food but that's getting old and I'm starting to feel sluggish, so what's next up for ol' Katie? (A SALAD FOR SLUGGO, FIRST OFF, THAT'S ENOUGH NUGGETS N FRIES NOW)

Well, job #1 is to make myself rest and recover properly so I don't burn all the way out. I've just been doing some easy jogging, maxing out at 5 miles so far. I plan to make myself stick to that for at least a full week post-marathon....although I may have to get out on the old Saguaro loop this weekend. I promise to take it real easy if I do.

I actually have a pretty full spring schedule of races planned, all pretty short ones (THANK THE HEAVENS). First up on March 15th is Dave's Run for ALS, a 5k in Marana north of Tucson that looks to be on a fast-ish course. On that same day is one of my favorite Tucson races, the Green Isle Mile that starts off the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown. If I'm feeling extra fly I might try to jump in that race after the 5k, the timing works out to a few-hours break and that could be fun.

Nothing else planned for the rest of March, then in April-May there are quite a few races. I think I'll finally try to work strength and core exercises in to my training about 3x a week.....after looking at the Hunchy McSlumperson pictures of me running at the end of the Phoenix Marathon, I think it'd do me good.

Phoenix Marathon recap

All right, well, I guess I better write this race up before I forget it all. The short recap: 3:03:59, 3rd place AG/10th overall. Mood: trying very hard to be happy about it, somewhat successfully.

Day before the race went fine, I did a short jog in the morning and spent the day in Phoenix with my parents, lazing around a local park and taking care of things like bib pick-up. I tried to eat plenty of carbs, not sure if everything I ate really worked for me because I had some stomach issues during the race. I did sleep pretty well which is unusual and great.

Race morning, I woke up at 3:15 a.m., ate some breakfast, and headed off to catch a bus to the start. I had an easy time finding my buddies which was awesome and really helped the pre-race hours go by fast. I ate a larger breakfast than usual, hoping to avoid dying in the late stages of the race (ha ha ha HA HAAAA you just wait).

Let me talk for a second about what my race plan was. I planned to divide the race mentally into 3 8-mile chunks and then give it all I had for the last 2.5 miles. I was going to start around 6:55-7:00 pace and get 5-10 seconds per mile faster with each 8-mile section, resulting in a sub 3-hour marathon. I mean, just so you know what the PLAN was, not that what happened was in any way related to this very smart and sensible plan.

Before I knew it we were off and running, and the weather was really nice. Overcast and not (YET) too windy. I felt kind of full already when we started, but I figured that was ok. I felt really great running at about a 6:45 pace. That was a bit faster than planned, but I figured that since the first 4 miles were the most downhill of the race, I was ok. I probably was ok, who knows....I will say that the 3:10 pacer was running at like a 6:40 pace, so if I took off too fast I certainly wasn't the only one. I really wonder if starting off slower might have resulted in a faster finish time.

I continued to feel great for quite awhile...I didn't even feel like I was running until the 6-mile mark, at the end of the only uphill of the race. A Tucson buddy was running with me, to my surprise since he had a slightly slower goal than me, but I really appreciated it. Around mile 8 or so the headwind kicked in, and there were some really tough stretches for the rest of the race. I seemed to find myself in no-mans-land each time there was a big wind, despite my plans to find a big galoot to draft off. In any case, we came through the half in just over 1:29 and I felt good, so I figured the early fast pace was all right.  The second we crossed the halfway mark my buddy slowed down and I didn't see him again, which was a little mentally tough but I resolved to go for it.

Untillllllll......

Around mile 16, I started hurting. I needed to eat another Gu but couldn't get it down, which had never happened in training. Also about at this time I remembered my pre-race plan, which I hadn't yet thought about during the race. I had a little cushion of time, so I tried to just relax and mentally tune out until mile 22 or so, but that didn't quite happen...at mile 20 I really lost it and for the last 10k, my pace slowed to 7:30's that felt more like 12 minute miles. I even started to lose coordination in what was probably a pretty hilarious display, first throwing cups of water straight into my face, then knocking them to the ground instead of grasping them. I have never, ever ever ever felt worse in a race in my life, I honestly though I might walk and/or drop out. Well, in any case I held down the barfs and finished in a time that I am really pretty happy with. I'm disappointed in how badly I died at the end since I'd tried so hard to prevent it, but on the other hand I'm glad I went for a fast time. Also, a ~20-minute PR in the course of a year is a good accomplishment.

So let's see, what would  I do differently next time? I might just try to chill out a little more in the week leading up to the race, by which I mean not obsessively monitor my every physical motion and bite of food. I think I was a bit overstuffed before the race, and I might back off on that a little bit so that I'm not full when I start to avoid problems eating during the race. Training-wise, I feel like I really did everything I could, so maybe with this training cycle under my belt I'll handle the higher mileage better next time (IF THERE IS A NEXT TIME). I'm sure there are lots of things I can do differently in training but I'm so burnt out on thinking about it right now that I'll worry about that later.

Also my streak is still unbroken, I got my sore and hungover (YEP) self out the the door the next morning for one mile in about 9.5 minutes, and I was very embarrassed by my robot shuffle.