First off, big congrats to my good friend Jax for running the Leadville Trail Marathon. She crushed it and is ready for the next big race...Marraige!!
With the 4th of July upon us already, the 3 day weekend was filled with local races. Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs...races everywhere. I had no intentions of running any of these races. My goal is bigger (and longer) then a 5K, and ending a 3 week block of high volume was not the ideal recipe for a fast race. With all that said, Jeff and I ended out Sunday morning to watch our speedy local Brit, Ewen, race the Superior Down Hill Mile. Somewhere between walking from the car to the finish line-a mere 400 meters-I decided to race a 4K at 9.00am. It was 7.05am.
We roll home and I get ready to run. I was nervous getting dressed. I don't know why. Maybe it was the fact that I have been running ALOT for the last 3 weeks and my legs were TIRED. Maybe it was the fact that I run 14 miles the day before and my legs were TIRED. Maybe it was the fact that I was just TIRED in general. Whatever it was succeeded in making me more nervous then I have been in awhile.
Warming up, my legs were heavy. No zip. Hmm...I wonder why. But hey, this is just for training right (at least that is what I told myself). We line up and I am thinking "Maybe I should not do this. Maybe I should just run a tempo run." Jeff has told me I might feel bad and just to run hard-time does not matter. This is part of my training. I got a comp entry to the race, so I was not loosing money by not racing. BUT I was loosing out on potentially FREE BEER if I did not race. Decisions. Decisions.
Gun goes off. Decision made. I am racing.
Note: This was only a 4k. 16 minutes of hell. The hell actually began at about 800 meters.
I make it through the mile right around 6.00 min flat. From there to the finish, I felt every one of the 14 miles I had run the day before. My legs were not happy. My mind was not happy. But I kept running. Free beer was on the line.
I cross the finish line disappointed. I walk away from the finish line as quickly as I crossed it. I find Jeff and let loose my emotions. I know deep down the poor performance was not surprising. But given the training I have been doing the last 3 weeks, it was a good end to a large volume block. It was part of the training and it was time to move on. Jeff and I walk in silence as I process. This was a D priority race. It was on a whim. There are
bigger goals I need to keep in mind. I talk it through with Jeff, cool down with some good friends, and head back home for a nap.
Oh..I won my free beer (2 six packs). Ironically, the name of the beer was KARMA.
Rock On
JK
