I think that part of what I like about running is that it can still surprise you. And not necessarily in bad ways, like when running surprised me a few weeks ago and I got heat exhaustion from it. No, running can also surprise you in good ways. This weekend has had a few of those moments and trust me, no one is more surprised than I am about it.
1) I did a 5k on Saturday. Not only did I not die, I didn't run my absolute worst 5k ever, which was kind of what I thought going into it. It was getting somewhat sunny during the run (it started a bit after 8am), so I had to walk because the sun got to me. But for the most part, I did okay.
2) I finished third in my age group. From this statement, you can probably deduce how many people were in my age group (answer: 3). And had it not been my birthday a couple of weeks ago, I would not have placed third in my age group. Nevertheless, you will have to pry that third-place finish white ribbon from my cold, dead hands as usual.
3) I met an interesting guy who is 75 years old and his goal is to run 1000 races. He is already in the 700s. Talk about impressive. This is one of those happy running surprises that I was telling you about. It's really cool to think that this guy has dedicated himself to running and still finds such enjoyment of it. He did join me in complaining about the weather, though.
4) I realized that I love CrossFit, which I started doing a few weeks ago, only I didn't tell you because it was a secret (I have no idea why I haven't talked about this). Even when CrossFit is really evil and they make you do 100 squats. That for real happened on Friday. I think I will keep it up. I feel stronger and less sluggish when running, so these are positive developments.
5) Tonight, the weather WAS NOT EVIL. No one, I repeat no one, was more surprised about this than I was. It was in the mid-80s, but the humidity was only in the 50% range when I started. And the dew point was under 70...in fact, it was 69. This type of weather is miraculous considering the time of year. I managed to almost run all of my 8 miles tonight. Not quite, because I got too excited and ran too fast at one point, and also it was getting more humid by the end of the run. But it was possibly the most pleasant surprise of all.
Okay, here is hoping that this good running momentum continues. I doubt that it will, particularly because I doubt that this more reasonable weather is sticking around for long. But I will enjoy it while it lasts and be glad that running can still provide happy surprises.
Showing posts with label Year of Running Surprises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Year of Running Surprises. Show all posts
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Sunday, October 30, 2011
What a difference decent weather and a packet of caffeinated jellybeans makes
I can tell you exactly what a difference these two things make: a full 30 seconds off of my personal record (PR) mile split for a half-marathon! That's a whole 6 minutes faster! I think that actually it's closer to 7 minutes faster!
Really!
That happened!
The scenario: the first half-marathon in the Florida Halfathon series was today. I was, to say the least, concerned, particularly after the last long run that I did where I was awful. I decided to try being better about fueling: generally I don't eat much before a race, so I decided to change that. I had one of my packets of caffeinated jellybeans prior to the race. That apparently did the trick. I don't think that I've ever felt so focused at the beginning of a long run. This idea is staying.
Then, I was very fortunate in that the weather was MUCH better than anticipated. It was 58F with a dew point of 50F. Now admittedly, this is actually in the 70% humidity range, but it felt considerably better than normal. And there was a pretty hefty breeze--actually, I could have done without the hefty breeze from a running standpoint, but it was fantastic from a not-overheating standpoint. Also great: it was overcast throughout the run, so Mr. Florida Sun was not even a factor.
And I did not even come close to overheating! I did have to walk a bit around mile 11 because I got going too fast for a while. But I was back on track soon enough and polished off the last mile and finished in a much faster time than anticipated. Considering that I was worried about being taken off the course for slowness, this was, to say the least, an unexpected surprise.
This was my benchmark race for the series. I need to work on staying steady and getting faster so that I can power through that 11-mile slump next time. On the other hand, who cares because I got a half-marathon PR!
WHOOOOOOOOOOO!
Apparently, it's the year of weird running surprises. I got the age award for the 5k in April, even though I didn't run all that fast. Then, I got my half-marathon PR on a race that I really didn't expect. Considerably better than last year, which was the year of the cruddy race weather.
Really!
That happened!
The scenario: the first half-marathon in the Florida Halfathon series was today. I was, to say the least, concerned, particularly after the last long run that I did where I was awful. I decided to try being better about fueling: generally I don't eat much before a race, so I decided to change that. I had one of my packets of caffeinated jellybeans prior to the race. That apparently did the trick. I don't think that I've ever felt so focused at the beginning of a long run. This idea is staying.
Then, I was very fortunate in that the weather was MUCH better than anticipated. It was 58F with a dew point of 50F. Now admittedly, this is actually in the 70% humidity range, but it felt considerably better than normal. And there was a pretty hefty breeze--actually, I could have done without the hefty breeze from a running standpoint, but it was fantastic from a not-overheating standpoint. Also great: it was overcast throughout the run, so Mr. Florida Sun was not even a factor.
And I did not even come close to overheating! I did have to walk a bit around mile 11 because I got going too fast for a while. But I was back on track soon enough and polished off the last mile and finished in a much faster time than anticipated. Considering that I was worried about being taken off the course for slowness, this was, to say the least, an unexpected surprise.
This was my benchmark race for the series. I need to work on staying steady and getting faster so that I can power through that 11-mile slump next time. On the other hand, who cares because I got a half-marathon PR!
WHOOOOOOOOOOO!
Apparently, it's the year of weird running surprises. I got the age award for the 5k in April, even though I didn't run all that fast. Then, I got my half-marathon PR on a race that I really didn't expect. Considerably better than last year, which was the year of the cruddy race weather.
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