Azalea Trail Race & Week of Runs

This past week has been a good running week for me as you can see in my Weekly Running Log above. I put in more miles this week preparing for the Azalea Trail 10k than I have since my injury in the Mardi Gras Half Marathon. It was the first time I could run without pain (or little pain). I ran slow easy paces so that I could run the ATR and not walk.

My plan was to run 3 miles on Thursday at a competitive speed; but that didn't work out. It was VERY humid and hard to breathe so I got 3 miles any way I could hoping it would be enough for the 10k in a couple of days. My goal had been to run, not walk, and with little or no pain. Now that I was feeling better, my competitive part of me wanted to aim for speed and forget the fact that I had hardly run since my injury. With the 3 mile run ending my runs for the week until the race, I settled on accepting a 10 minute mile pace for the 10k.

ON TO THE AZALEA TRAIL:
Saturday came and I felt really good. I had experienced no recent pains with the exception of one here and there to remind me that it could still have control of me when it wants to. But it was waning in intensity and regularity so I was hoping my body was getting control again. Having babied my cracked rib for a while now, my thinking was that it was healing well. Although...it had been a month since the fall! I mean, how long can a runner wait??? Right??

The temp was in the mid forty's and the weather was clear. Everything was great for a Spring 10k. The air was filled with excitement and people were beginning to gather everywhere you looked. This year the ATR added a 5k which many participated in. I think it was a great idea. Also, new this year was a chipped bib. I was excited about this thinking my "real" time would be the recorded result and I could compare it with my Garmin. Although I take the Garmin over any other type of recording since it is satellite regulated.

My plan was to shoot for a 10 minute pace. Competing against my time last year, which was my best 10k to date, was out of the question as I didn't want to damage any healing I had received over the month. BUT, as with all races, once the gun is fired, the legs and feet have only one goal...run as fast as you can. I "tried" not to do this but it is absolutely the most exciting time of the race with entering the shoot a close second. Everyone is so hyped up and no one is tired, hurt, or sick at this point. This is sooo much fun!

I constantly looked at my watch to see my pace and, of course, it was faster than I had intended on running. But I thought after the first mile, I'd slow down just from the fact that I hadn't run like this in quite a while. The second mile marker appeared and I was still keeping the faster pace with ease. I just knew that I would be pooped by the 5th mile if I didn't take it easier. Then I did a little evaluating. How am I feeling? Am I breathing too hard? How is my rib feeling? Are my legs or feet hurting? And, honestly, I must say "No" to all of these questions. So.....I kept running.

Before I knew it, the 5k'ers were entering the race with us at the 5 mile mark. BIG problem here...Although I was excited about having a 5k and even at the same time, the funnelling in with the longer race runners was almost a disaster. You begin to see that the walkers from the 5k were taking the entire road. Now, your mission for the race has changed from achieving a good time to avoiding obstacles...like baby carriages side by side and talkers strolling in the middle of the road and small children everywhere!! This caused a lot of slowing down and weaving and bobbing killing precious time. And this was at the 5 mile mark...basically the end when you're pushing a little harder for a better time!! I did my best in pushing my way through them and finished with a great time but wondered how I would have done without the extra "issues" we had to encounter. Hopefully, they will rethink how to bring the two races together for a smooter transition for next year.

As mentioned earlier, my goal was a 10 minute mile pace. My Garmin results were: 55:41 with a 8:53 pace!! I was sooooo excited. And comparing with last year's results, that was only 28 seconds off! I couldn't believe it. Now, I really can't wait until next year's race! Kent ran a good race, too. He beat the 30 minutes he had wanted to do in the 5k. We are off to a great year of racing!!

A FINAL NOTE: The thing I like about races is that size and shape make no difference! Anyone can do it and should. If you can't tackle a 10k you should be able to do a 5k. I mean, really...a woman can walk miles shopping, even one or two getting groceries in Wal-Mart alone! So what's the excuse? You CAN do it!!