- Ran Tuesday before the election return marathon that night.
- Skipped Wednesday's tempo run to recover sleep.
- Blew off Thursday's easy run.
- Thought about making something up on Friday but was too tired still. Just glad it was Friday.
- Yesterday I was running errands and cooking. It did not include running. [NEWS FLASH: I was cooking because Mrs. T was off leading a museum tour to Sarasota and we had ten people coming over for dinner. Nobody died. Seafood lasagna was pretty good.]
With too little sleep, too much alcohol and a total disregard of the benefits of training, I went to run the Founders 10K and 5K this morning. To start, I forgot my watch. I decided I'd just race how I felt and check the mile clocks as necessary.
The drive was 24 miles and I arrived just in time. I hit the port-a-potties, checked my bag and got in the back of the starting queue. I ignored the pace mile signs and figured to hang back and start late, then navigate the crowd as it loosened up down road.
Horn blows. Crowd moves. I'm loitering to let them move out. Announcer says, "All 10K runners: you have 30 seconds to cross the starting mats before we start the race-walkers."
Drat. I run across the mats.
The lane was narrow. The slow pokes were wide. I weaved, jumped curbs and avoided ankle sprains and cross checking penalties. Over the course of six miles I passed a lot of people. That allowed many of them to read the back of my shirt, a gift from Peter in DC (DC Spinster). It said "Get used to this view," the taunt of the DC Runners Club 10K training team.
I ran about as best I could but it was not very pretty. 53:58; 8:41 pace. I mean, I ran a 15K at a 9 sec./mile slower pace in September. I thought I could go at an 8:15-8:20 pace. Conditions were excellent too.
It just wasn't my day.
Nevertheless, the bright spot is that I didn't pack it in and go home after the 10K. I stuck around and did the 5K as well. I got stiff between races so the first half mile of the 5k was all about loosening up. I allowed many more to read the back of my shirt. And this race? More like a warm down, coming in at 29:55.
I saw several peeps at the race. Only Seth among those mentioned anytime previously. Father Jack was there but I never saw him. It was a nice race. I PRed the 10K there in 2005. Good times. Good times.
Next up is the Turkey Trot, a/k/a the runners' family reunion. It seems every high school kid who runs cross country at college comes back for the holiday and runs this race. The times are incredible. There's also a high volume of non-athletes, out to justify their later-in-the-day indulgences. I'll go both ways on that one.
12 comments:
mmmm Seafood lasagna , may need to get that recipe!
I'm with Neese on the seafood lasagna recipe!
Nice job on both races!
I'll third the nod for seafood lasagna. Two of my favorite things together, what's not to love.
How cool to run two races back to back. Sounds like fun even without them being PR's.
I would have been happy with 1 race. What a stud!
Your not very pretty would have been a PR for me . . . with all that weaving you make it sound like you were in Chicago. Good job, though - you ran two races.
Nice shirt!
have fun at the turkey trot. those things are more social than anything else.
10 'n 5? Are you training for something long again?
10k, 5k, double. That's the way to do it! You're in the game!
I see we share cooking standards: "nobody died." Love it.
I did a 10K and a 3K back-to-back, but never a 10K/5K. That extra 1.2 miles would be tuff. That shirt (Get Used to the View!) is a problem if people start passing you. I was running along in that shirt in a fog of fatigue at my last marathon at MP 24 when some woman behind me exploded, "I'm sick & tired of this view!" and ran by me. She smiled at me, but it took me a mile to figure out she was talkin' about my shirt.
pretty nice job buddy. at first i read that you were "running and cooking." on 2nd thought I think you WERE running and cooking.
(ha ha peter!)
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