Media Challenge, Race 5

Pigtails PR’ed tonight, folks, and I just couldn’t wait until the end of my race report to tell you all.

Going into this race, my company’s team is in first place for the series, winning every race, but maintaining just a small lead over the second-place team. Our captain was rallying everyone to show for the final race so we will be able to clain victory, and I did my part by coercing fellow Green Mountain Relay runner JMK to come out with me by exhorting, “Win Win Win!” I’ll admit, I was starting to feel nervous about the race, in that good, excited way. But also, I was wondering what had gotten into me when I thought it would be suitable to let everyone know I was hoping to PR. What if I didn’t?

Fat chance! I ran the first loop, 1.8 miles, in 13:32. That’s an average pace of about 7:30’s–but I think I ran the first mile closer to 7, then slowed down a little. My strategy was to go out stronger than I could sustain, because I knew I could gut it out the last lap if I gave myself a good head start, and I could kick on the final .1 mile of downhill. We started in front of Tavern on the Green, and I was breathing hard by the time we entered the smelliest manure zone (you know that stretch on the South East corner?). 

By this point, I know the course very well, and that made the loops seem smaller and the hills shorter. I started a mantra which I would repeat on the uphills: Soon you will be running downhill. And then I had another mantra to make sure I didn’t relax & slow down on the downhills: Enjoy the downhill.  I tried to gulp water at the split but I was breathing so hard (and reluctant to slow down) that all I could do was sort of toss the water towards my mouth and hope some made it in.

Somewhere in the middle of the second loop my friend LW, the cookie-baking triathlete who recently spent a weekend with us in the Poconos, passed me running in the opposite direction, on a training run with TNT. Boy, did she look relaxed — she could talk! I think I grunted out a response. I couldn’t say if I passed any other racers that last lap, I don’t think I did, but at this point I was just racing myself. I didn’t dare look at my watch, though, I was working off my split time, internal dialogue, perceived effort level, and the time I had to beat: 28:12. I got to the top of that hill in front of the Tavern on the Green, one-tenth of a mile from the finish line, and could hear them calling out the splits — 26:49, 26:54.

I told myself, You will kick it down this hill and not let up even though you’ve wiped your old time. You will kick it. I finished in 27:10, the final 1.7 miles taking me 13:38, for an average race pace of 7:48’s. I grabbed my pink place card from the volunteers, saw that I finished 13th among all women, and went to sit down on the grass and soak it all up for a minute or so.

(Actually, that’s what I’m doing right now. Sitting here at my keyboard grinning.)

(I’ll let you all know if my company team won the series once the final results get emailed around.)