Update #20:
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Week Report:
S: 50min, 7.09mi
M: 30min, 3.78mi
T: 30min, 3.96mi
W: 30min, 3.72mi
R: Race, 20AM, 15min up, 5k in 16:49, 15min down Total: 8.73mi
F: off
S: off
Total: 250min, 27.28mi
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Overall Reaction:
Good end to a short little build season.
Week leading up to the race: Sunday was good. About halfway I started to feel as if I was pushing it too hard and backed off; trying to save something for Thursday. The next three days were a lesson in patience. I tried to just go easy, but the pace of the run ended up frustrating me. I know I shouldn’t have given a sh!t, but I pushed a little bit more on the Tuesday run to try and make up for it. Wednesday, I just said “fvck it,†and went for a relaxed run again. Even with this mild annoyance, I told myself that I knew that there would be a difference on race day.
The Race. Up as usual at five a.m. and planned to go about a regular day, minus the large amount of breakfast that I usually eat. Running that early is awesome. Maybe because it was Thanksgiving, but it was completely dead. No cars anywhere. No people. Just… me. It was awesome. Ate a conservative breakfast (one egg, ¼ cup of rice, recovery shake) and sipped on a tiny cup of coffee leading up until it was time to leave for the race.
Warmup went smoothly, no nerves, just positive that I was going to give a good effort and try to earn a good result. Weather was pretty good; overcast, 37-40F with slight wind. Was fine in stocking hat, gloves, singlet, and shorts.
First mile is mostly flat and it went smoothly. Immediately out in the lead with the one other person who could challenge me. The second mile starts with a vicious uphill, a sharp downhill, and then another vicious uphill, all within 7-800m. Dropped the guy I was running with on the first hill and never looked back. In the past, midway through the race was about the time I started to balk at the weight of the pace. This time, though, I thought about why I was doing this, why I was running at all, let alone this dumb little 5k in a tiny village no one’s ever heard of. Cheesy, yes, but at that point, my mantra became “2020â€. That’s what this was all about—fvck everything else.
And that’s basically it. Last mile was flat and I just buckled down a little bit more every couple hundred meters. Finishing time was 16:49. I think that's pretty decent result for a solo effort on a hilly course, considering I haven't run seriously in two years, and the only training I've done is 650 miles of base and, like, 4 workouts.
So, yeah. Took Friday and Saturday off and all this week. Start back every other day on 12/4. That’s why I’ve been late with the update—I’ve been mapping out the workouts, races, and training levels for the track season. I’ll update with the full plan next Saturday.