Training, Week of 6/19 and 8 Furlong Race Report

Week 5!  Ran everyday and the streak continues to 35.  I had a slight reduction in mileage due to preparation for a race today (Sunday) and managed to cover 45.1 miles in 5:27:41 (7:16 pace).  There was no dedicated long run, but I did do two moderately long runs.  I didn't really do any quality this week except for the mile race, sticking to mostly easy running.  I plan to return to a Long Run (with capital letters for emphasis) and a Quality Workout (again, for emphasis) this coming week.  I also plan to get in 3-4 easy miles before work a couple times this week to make getting miles in a little easier.

Men's Open Race Time Distribution

As for the race, it was not what I expected.  I ran about what I figured I could (4:37.9) but the competition was a lot stronger than I expected.  From the results, you can see that there is the typical "bell curve" shape to the results, but the peak was very much farther forward than I would have expected.

As far as my own personal experience and performance, I allowed myself to get caught up in the "I can win this and bring home some money" mindset rather than the "I can try my best and have a good time and if I get money, that's awesome" mindset and because of that got pretty nervous before the race.  As usual, when the gun went off, that disappeared and by 150 meters I was in 10th place.  I wasn't concerned, however, because that's the way most open races go.  I wasn't as pro-active in getting to the front as I should have been and lost contact with the leaders.  By the half-mile mark I was in 6th and picked one person off before the three-quarters mark.  Then I started my kick, hoping to catch the guy in fourth, guaranteeing myself the age group "win" (top three overall aren't counted for age-group purposes).  I didn't catch him but ended up with the AG win and a $50 gift certificate anyways.  Physically I don't think I can justifiably be anything but happy with the performance.  Coming back with only five weeks of training and little quality, I ran a decent mile.

Mentally and emotionally (perhaps spiritually?) I am a little mixed up.  I feel like I should be disappointed or upset or vowing to re-dedicate myself to training harder because I *only* ran 4:38.  I am a bit disappointed that I didn't win money, but despite not running a particularly fast time and making a tactical mistake I feel kind of numb.  I'm not mad, but I don't really have the "I don't care" mentality.  Maybe I'll be able to un-mix my feelings and figure out what it all means.

Lessons learned:

• I still have some decent speed.  4:37.9 is a good time for 8:00am running around a stadium in the parking lot.  This will be good for the 5k's and 10k's that I'm planning on doing.
• Racing on the roads in CT is not the same as racing on the roads in VT.  The big dogs are just a little bit bigger and I can't just show up and win anymore.  The rewards are bigger but so is the competition.
• I need to focus on personal improvement and letting the placing happen.  I tend to forget that in addition to personal fitness, the place one gets in a race also has to do in large part with who else decides to show up.  I think if I get into some longer races, I'll be able to be a little bit farther back and enjoy races more.

-Lane

Edit: Race coverage (in youtube form) here: