Sunday, August 19, 2007

Manawatu Striders 10k (subtitle: just not that fast)




Today was perfect (apart from the no milk- but at least I had all night to adjust). The drive up to Palmy was cruisy. The weather played ball- sunny but too not hot, no wind. Gorgeous, perfect race weather. My belly played ball, and so did my hormones.

I ran strong for 6.2 miles. At some points I felt slightly less strong and at others slightly more so, but there were no dramas. Sometimes I found myself slightly irritated by slow walkers and trudging half marathoners (like you two who cut me off at the turn around- cheers...) but there was no congestion. No dastardly headwinds, no bullets of hail. No grinding hills (though the rise at the end was harder than expected). This was a textbook race. So why did I just barely break 48? (47:54 give or take a few seconds) Why did I positively split by nearly a minute (23:35, 24:19)? What am I even doing running over TWENTY FOUR minutes in the second half of a 10k? Take away the horrible headwinds and I gain EIGHTEEN measly seconds??

I know, I know. 47:54 is nothing to sneeze at. It's a solid PB. It's sub-48, just like I wanted. A twenty four minute 5k would be a dream for lots of people (and the straving kids in Africa would appreciate that gross casserole...)

BUT ALL THE OTHER GIRLS ARE FASTER THAN ME AND IT AINT FAIR. Even the ones who used to be slower.


Forgive the self-indulgence. It's my blog and I can whine if I want to. Don't think for a second that I'm not glad to have been running a PB on this glorious Palmy day. That I'm glad PF hasn't sidelined me. That I get to run marathon number 2 in just over two months. That I've just come back from practically a paid vacation (give or take 8 hours a day). I know there's lots to be grateful for, and plenty to be proud of. I know I'm moving in a consistent forwards direction (apart from my last 5k, which was a tad slower than the one before, but they're just glorified training sessions, all of my races have been faster than the last), and that I can't expect to get back to where I once belonged instantly. But I saw it coming, and I got greedy.

And today, well I just needed to b*tch!

PS: my super little sister raced today too. She looked verty strong coming up the last hill, so I told her so and made her run. We sprinted towards the finish until we got stuck behind some walkers (nice ones, who very graciously moved out of our way), and the moment was lost. But once she gets her long runs up and her endurance down, that sis is gonna be a force to be reckoned with!

8 comments:

Wes said...

Nice job on the sub-48!! Woo hoo! Nice job on the bitchin and moanin too! You ROCK :-) Now get out there and keep after it!!!

Rachel said...

Hon, you did great. I get my ass kicked by everyone all the time. You have to focus on yourself. I have never run a sub-48. I dream of someday running a 50 for a 10K. Sigh.

JenC said...

My husband is always chiding me about comparing myself to other people, but it is hard to do. You are still super fast by my standards! (if that helps at all)

Bruce said...

If it makes you feel any better I doubt I could run a sub 48 10k. I've never raced 10 but have done one 5k in 23 minutes and I was absolutely spent. Couldn't have faced another five k at close to that speed. One day hopefully.

Unknown said...

You go ahead and b*tch whenever you want on your own blog, girl. If we were always showing our teeth in big goofy grins life would be pretty freaking unbearable. Frowns and downs are part of life...and we all have them and express them. Congrats on a run without headwinds...now if only they'd stay away during my bike events!!!

Love2Run said...

A PB is a PB! I know the next time will be even better. Hey, nice job!

TriShannon said...

You are fast! However I totally can relate to your feelings! You are doing great and consistently improving!

E-Speed said...

you did great, but we can always do better so go ahead and whine a bit, and run faster next time!

awesome job on the PB!