Running In Place

Last night I got to do 2 of my favorite things: run the hilly 10K and meet an RBFer!

Molly and I live about 45 miles apart and are both preparing for our first Boilermaker, so this was the perfect geographic mid-point and challenging training run to make our introductions.

Well, now I am 2 for 2 in meeting fellow bloggers who are just as awesome in “real life” as they are in cyberspace!! Not only was Molly a pleasure to talk to, but we seemed to be running in near-perfect sync with each other - without having to make much effort to speed up or slow down to keep together (well, she says she didn’t slow down for me anyway ). We had decided at the outset that we wanted to make it a slow, strong run rather than trying for speedy and we pretty quickly seemed to fall into a pace that was just right. Molly lives in a hilly town and she is powerful on hills for sure. There were a couple of times, on the steep inclines, when I had to fall a couple of paces behind but having her to catch kept me pushing hard! It was all the more motivating to have someone to run alongside and chat with. We talked alot about running, of course, and future plans - the “M” word even came up!

The weather was cooperative in that the thunder and lightning that was anticipated never came. With the heat and humidity, we were kind of hoping for a downpour, though. All we got were a few sputtering sprinkles. In the end, we finished strong in 1:12:06 for an 11:38 overall pace. So we were happy.

Now if we can just get Jack to pop over from Germany, and Jon to swing in from Michigan we will have a great Central New York blogging contingent. And speaking of CNY blogging, Molly and I were both interviewed by the local paper regarding our blogs as motivational tools in training for the Boilermaker. It hasn’t come out yet as far as we know, but should in the next week or so. New running friends and soon-to-be-famous RBFers, we are!!

Tonight I get to meet another RBFer! Molly and I are getting together for that hilly 10K that I might have mentioned once or twice. Since she runs the hills in her town all the time, and since she’s got a 10 mile run under her belt this week already, I’m sure I’ll get another chance to learn yet another lesson on humility

I think, honestly, that it’s good that the Universe keeps me in check. I spent this week feeling as cocky as all get-out - and not that that’s bad, necessrily - but it’s probably just as valuable to get a reality check now and again. That was today.

But first, let me take you on a brief historical journey, beginning way way back in the glorious time of the SOS Run. It was a time of hills, a time of perfect pacing and strong performance, a time of great ego inflation. This era was followed directly, and exacerbated by, the Wednesday night 10K development run period which was marked by a glorious repeat of the SOS 5 mile course PLUS an extra 1.2 miles, primarily, surprisingly, uphill. This memorable and epic period was best known for its total, powerful, perfectly poised and paced ass kicking-ness!!

Shortly after, the dark days of the plague arrived. Known initially for its coughs and sniffles, this era soon proved to be fatal to any attempt to schedule a long run on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday due to it’s deadly symptomology of back and head aches, 18 hour naps, a head that weighs 62 lbs and is impossible to lift off a pillow, and a deadly intolerance to any well-meaning spouse who might suggest that a little fresh air could do the trick. Later, mothers everywhere would diagnose this ailment as “the bug” and confound medical personnel everywhere by suggesting that it was acquired by leaving the house with wet hair on a chilly day.

Which brings us to present day…

Today was the Summer Sizzle 5 mile race. This is a very nice run, mostly on bike/running paths through Proctor Park and around the nearby community college. It was mostly flat with some gentle inclines here and along. The bugger was that it was hot, sunny, and humid by the 8 AM start. If I’m honest, it was not as humid as yesterday and there was an occasional, lovely, breeze. So, weather-wise, it wasn’t as bad as it could be, but it was worse than my 2 recent, um…phenomenal runs, which were definately lower on the heat index.

I started the AM by making a race day friend while we were both wandering cluelessly around the gymnasium building looking for a ladies room. After we finally happened upon our target, we stretched together and shared thoughts on being slow, running our first Boilermaker, and shorts that creep. She was training with a Boilermaker sponsored training program and had just been out with the group yesterday for an 8.2 mile run. The only thing I did 8.2 times yesterday was whine to my husband in a nasally voice to bring me more orange juice and Kleenex.

When it was time to line up we headed for the back, which wasn’t too far as it was a small group. This race runs the ladies and men separately as it is part of some women’s distance challenge. I saw a few familiar faces, including the older lady that I often play leapfrog with. I usually beat her so I was all yeah, you’re mine ol’ gal! (to myself, in case you wondered).

So off we went, my new friend and I. We hung together and passed a couple of people here and there. She seemed like she was really working after not too long and I was feeling really good. I wasn’t holding back like I should have and she was pacing with me like she shouldn’t have so we just ended up pushing each other too hard in the first mile. We finished it in 9:51 and when I called it to her she was all like “that’s too fast for me” and I’m feeling so good that I’m thinking to myself sure, for YOU. Onward into the 2nd mile, I start to move away from her. I am thinking that I should slow down some so I slow down at the water stop and begin pacing with her again more slowly. But I can’t help creeping ahead. Mile 2 is 10:28 and I’m glad I slowed down some because it is HOT and, though there are a blessed lot of shady areas in the park, the areas of sun that we are running in are already taking a toll. In mile 3 I was mostly alone, some people ahead and some behind, and it was beginning to creep into my consciousness that my brash “I must be the fastest of the slow” start was gonna bite my butt the way it did in that other race. I finished it in 11:08. Mile 4 was where that creeping consciousness became clear realization - I was coming out of the shady areas and into the sun, and really contemplating how radically the heat and sun can change your performance. Like the period of time that passes between one childbirth and the next, a couple of runs in comfortable weather can make you forget all about the discomforts of full-on summer running. Mostly mile 4 sucked and I cursed myself for my fast start, and moreso for repeating what I already thought I knew better than doing. This mile was my slowest and most difficult at 11:54. Last mile: Yeah! I can do anything for a mile, right? This mile is pretty well flat. This mile is where I begin to notice that 2 of the ladies ahead of me are doing walk breaks (Jack take note ). I don’t know if it’s by plan or by necessity but dammit I can’t get past them. I’m running slow, they’re walking, I get close, they start running and keep their lead. Or I pass them while they’re walking but then they start running shortly after and pull ahead. Frankly. Honestly. I started to feel a little resentful, a little angry. Then, towards the end, I passed one of the walking ladies and she complimented me on a great job and we passed a few words about the heat and the sun, and then I was ok. She and I were each running our own race. If I want to catch her and I can’t catch her, that’s my problem. Shortly after, in the last 1/8 mile or so, that walk/runner AND the older lady I mentioned at the beginning, who I was surely gonna smoke (right??), passed me. And I couldn’t catch them. And I was cheering them. Then, in the stretch, my race-day friend who I left behind so long ago comes right up behind me and says “you’d better get moving, I’m right on your tail!” I came in ahead of her, but just barely. I finished in 54:58 per my watch (thank goodness I’m getting better with pushing those buttons at the right time!) for an 11:00 average pace.

Today, for me, was not a race so much as a review class - on pacing, on heat & sun, on assumptions, on putting my ego in a box. Success can be a great motivation, disappointment can be a great lesson, the space in between might be the most fundamental place to find yourself in. It’s “good enough” but it’s not good enough. Which begs the question - where is my good enough? Answer: Just keep going till you get there

Will you ever get there? That’s a question for some other, far off day.

You know what? I love this process - really!! It’s all new to me. Maybe someday I will apply it to a half-marathon. Or a marathon!! Each time I revisit my capacity to learn, adapt, and change - my dreams grow slighly larger. Each time I address my nearly 40 year old body (which is not an old body, but one which has never NEVER previously been athletic) and ask it to work a little more - and it does - I am renewed.

So, class is dismissed for today. A little ‘ancient’ history and a little recent history. I’ll leave you with this:

The race shirts today were, from my perspective, great! A wonderful departure from the standard whites and beiges -

Some of the guys had a problem with the color. How about you?

P.S. I prefer you shirtless but don’t let my opinion sway you

Subtitled: Bring on the hills! Yeah Baby! YEAH!

You know, for as low as the low is, the high is high! Sunday’s Save Our Switchbacks 5 mile race was put on by the Utica running club who have, in that last 6 years, revitalized some beautiful paths in the South Woods of the Roscoe-Conkling Park. Evidently, the paths were in such disrepair that the city was going to shut them down - until the Roadrunners stepped in. For having lived in the relative area for all my life, I had never been up to the South Woods. What a great treat! And what a challenge!! I will say right here, right now - this was my hardest (and best) race yet.

I could tell right away that this race was mostly comprised of fast folks. I only saw one of the familiar faces I’ve become accustomed to seeing with me in the back of the pack. Honestly, this is ok with me - it’s ok if everyone is faster and it’s ok if I come in last or close to last. That 10K really changed my perspective about what’s important to me in a race. When the pack spreads out and I find myself running essentially alone, the race becomes my own and it’s not so much where I place or who I pass as how I meet my own challenge and run the race that I expect of myself. Maybe everybody else already figured this out for themselves and I’m treating the obvious like a concept I just invented but, hell, it gives me something to think about when I’m out there alone and wondering if there’ll be any bagels left by the time I get to the finish

So, like I started to say, I could see it was a fast crowd and as we took off I quickly found my place with a couple of the 60+ age group folks - a man slightly ahead of me and a lady slightly behind. This course included the big-ass hill I’ve run up in the development runs and encompassed 5 miles of that difficult 10K development run I plan on tackling soon. Nearly all of the first 3 miles are various stages of uphill - some sublte inclines and some ‘dig your toes in and lean forward’ steep.

Mile 1 was the hill I was familiar with and I made it up in my fastest time yet at 11:28. As the path leveled off a little and I began to speed up a bit and run alongside the older gentleman ahead of me, he began to warn me about all of the uphills to come in this course (which I had not been aware of at the time) and cautioned me to pace myself accordingly. I stayed with him for awhile and he continued to offer advice and encouragement. Even after I pulled ahead, he kept on calling out support until I was out of sight. Mile 2 was hilly but easier with the cheers of this man, and ended at 11:06.

The first piece of mile 3 still had some uphill but also began a leveling off and heading back down so it was easier to speed up and finish it in 10:26. This mile also took place within the South Wood switchbacks and was really lovely. The day was overcast, relatively cool (high 60’s F), and not humid (thankfully!!). The trees were lush and green and offered a quiet seclusion that belied the bustling traffic of the nearby city streets. Sometimes I was able to look down through the trees to the switchback path just below and see another runner, but otherwise I felt pretty much alone - and even in the midst of my hard efforts - it was very peaceful.

Of course the last 2 miles was the much anticipated flip side of all the previous uphill trudging, but that held challenges of its own. Some of the hills were too steep to just let go on for fear of flying ass over teakettle and I got my first really good sense of the physical stresses that downhill running can create. Mile 4 was a reserved 10:03 and the last mile in was a finally-let-loose 8:39! (Thanks gravity ). In the end, my watch said 51:45 for my best overall pace of any distance - 10:21! What’s the upshot if I just take away all those numbers? It’s that I ran a race that was a real challenge, the most difficult yet in terms of terrain, and that I ran hard and I stayed strong. When it was over I was like THAT WAS GREAT!! When can I do that again?? Well, Wednesday’s development run as it turns out - with an additional 1.2 miles thrown in to boot! Molly, strap on your rocket boosters - we’re running up some hills baby!!

After I finished up, I hung around the finish to cheer in my old friend who was kind enough to coach me along and let me in on all the course secrets! He complimented me on my strong run and said he had been worried that I would spend myself too early because “you young people always want to go fast.” He thinks I’m fast AND young. I love him.

For the most part I felt like I was not too much worse for the wear until last night when I developed some low back pain, which lasted throughout today but now seems to be waning. I think I’m gonna hit that 10K run tomorrow! Did I mention that I think I love hills? They make you feel so….powerful! (Sure, I’ll eat that statement more than a few times in my future running endeavors but right now that just don’t matter!) One more 5 mile race on Sunday, then no more racing till July 10. After that, what the hell will I talk about??

Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences with supplementing during the 15K. I definately won’t be trying anything new on race day but I’ve got 8 mile and 9 mile runs to get in beforehand so I will experiment a little - though I haven’t decided yet quite what I’ll try.

Doh! Edited to add a correction. I was incorrect in saying that this race was my best overall pace of any distance. It’s not true but it’s close to true but it doesn’t matter either way really cause I still freakin’ rocked! Ok, settle down. Just in the interest of accuracy and all…

I have a questions that I am hoping to get some input on. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

In terms of my 15K in July, is a gel something that I should think about incorporating? Or an energy drink like Gatorade? I’ve never used either, but of course I’ve never yet run up to a 15K distance. Are they things I should consider experimenting with in my next couple of long runs? Or, if I hydrate well and eat smartly on the days and morning preceding the race, will the water stops likely be sufficient? It will probably be hot and humid so I can see where they might have a technical benefit, but I also have a low tolerance for sweet stuff and can’t stand to drink soda, sweetened tea, or anything sugary so I’m worried about getting nauseaus. I’m wondering if it’s a short enough distance (well, not short to me but whatever ) that I can get away without incorporating them. Any thoughts would be helpful.