Get Where I’m Going*

A week later and race update.

The Steelrail Half turned out better than I expected. Going into it I was exceptionally worried about my hip. It had been feeling better, but had hurt and seemed weak so much beforehand I wondered if racing was going to be a bad idea and lead to more injury and the possibility that my year would take a wrong turn from what I had hoped it to be. But I was, being super stubborn especially with injuries, sort of refused to drop out before the race and figure, worse case, I would drop out during if the hip really got worse.

I was also going to be going with a running store friend who, although he expected me to beat him, I expected to be left by him. Time wise I wanted to try and beat my Run the Border time, but hadn’t given much as to by how much because I was still happy with that time. If anything my plan was to try and get below 8 minutes a mile and actually run a 1:44:49.

So the weather turned out better than expected although it was more humid then I thought it would be. I had a worry about that two miles into the race, while I was with my friend and we were doing about a 7:50 because I felt like my heart rate was a bit too high and my mouth a bit too dry. That gave me worry about the next 11 miles. At this stage my friend left and I focused.

I have to say I don’t remember much of the race although I recall noticing I was keeping my splits low and once in a while I stepped a little wrong and my hip twinged. I thought about the count down of miles and about racing and being chased. I thought about the numbers and where I may end up and then, around mile 7 I saw my friend and I thought about closing the gap.

At mile 10 I reached him. He was having a harder time although was pretty chatty so I think his stomach issues slowed him down but nothing else. However, I caught him and happily and tiredly said, three more miles. And so we ran. He tried to engage me a few times, but I was not in a place to chat but he did keep me at pace. Those last 2.5 miles were HARD and he kept my splits going even if he didn’t know it and, I think, felt I was slowing down to stay with him. Finally I did pull away, not a purpose and maybe more he dropped back but I finished in 1:43:44. At the end I chased down another lady runner and, while approaching the finish line, I knew there was someone Right There based on the cheering and announcing so I pushed to hold her off. Turns out it wasn’t her but another runner who I held off.

Needless to say, I was super excited. Another PR? This is super crazy. Although with another PR comes the question: what’s next?

Obviously Batstate but what else can I do with a half? Can I do a 1:40? Could I do faster? I may put a pin in those questions as I focus on Baystate. My training plan is suddenly picking itself up in a huge way. This past week was my recovery and next week? Well I’m up to 36 miles already.

WHAT?!?!

I suppose if I want to hit the time I need and that my plan says I can, I need to work. That is part of what I wondered about last year. I put in enoug time, but was it really Enough? This time around I may see. I also managed to work in an Orangetheory AND not have my hip hate me again so I feel like I may be back from whatever I did to my hip.

All in all, I’m excited. I want to work hard and I want to BQ. I may have finally hit my stride (yes pun so fully intended) and maybe this year can end how it began: with a win.

* Imma gonna get where I’m going on my own two feet

Drink the Wild Air*

Here is one of the things I like most about running: you can dread a run or a workout with every ounce of your being. Think “omg this is the LAST thing I want to do and it will be terrible”. You can have doubts and fears about the undertaking you have in front of you, but you still put on those shoes, take a deep breath and GO.

And sometimes those runs or workouts turn out to be just perfect. It may not be the best undertaking, but it was good in its own way. Maybe it made you realize that this is a mind over matter game most days but sometimes your body will do it’s own thing to. Maybe you realize how just lovely the day is and how lucky you are to be able to run and worry about a bad one. Or maybe it just is that you realize some part of you would be incomplete without the un.

My last long run before the Steel Rail half I dreaded. I drank too much before (whoops!) and woke up sluggish. I didn’t want to “drag myself” through a 10-11 mile run. I wanted to do nothing. But I had a task before me and figured I could suck up an hour and a half to just get it down. And so I went out and, guess what... everything was just fine and it was one of those runs where I thought “well damn, this is fun and amazing and I’m lucky.”

*Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.