RETURN to RACING- TURKEY TROT STYLE!
So, I signed up for the Ashburn Farm 10K for this past
Thanksgiving as it has been a race I’ve historically enjoyed. It is nice timing- not too early in the
morning, not too late/ allows for a still FULL Thanksgiving day of time, it is
well put together by a church in Ashburn, it is for a great cause of helping a
school in Uganda, and I like that it has a 10K, 5K and 2K walk option- so nice
for families and all levels.
I have been running still about 35 miles / week through the
fall and trying to do one day a week of some focused intensity and
intervals. *Of course, with the
disclaimer of always keeping those intervals under the level of injury, as years
later, I am still under the scrutiny of my hip and hamstring and what that will
allow me to do.
I went into the race hoping to work hard in the race because
this leaves me feeling the best for the rest of Thanksgiving- like I”ve really
earned my relaxation (and FOOD!!!) But,
of course, I wanted to show up, to see people I knew there, to have it FEEL FUN
as well!
I drove by myself to get there and it was a GORGEOUS SUNRISE
MORNING! I was so thankful that I was up and able to enjoy seeing the pinks and
oranges of the sky. It was a reminder to
me that sometimes, sleeping in is overrated!
I literally will take a sunrise any day over sleeping in, and as I age,
I seem to love my sleep more and more!
All the morning logistics done and race was about to
start. Cold weather- I think about 35 it
was? But it didn’t feel too
terrible. I was worried I had
overdressed since I saw some people in shorts and tanks?????? But, I knew to trust myself and my many artic
layers😊
I lined up not at the exact front, but in first few rows a
bit between 7 and 8 min pace markers.
The race began and for the first 60 seconds, I was like, “ohhh these
races are so good because the people you are around kind of keep you from going
out too fast, and this feels right and good so yea!” And then the first minute was over and a few
minutes in, I was like, “ok, this hurts and I don’t enjoy this feeling.” It felt like a 5K hurt, which I always experience
as kind of a sense of panic in my body when my breathing hasn’t caught up with
my output and I’m in a deficit. Since I’ve
felt this before, I recognized it, but was worried because I thought I was
really at a reasonable pace, had warmed up and gotten my legs and breathing
ready for this effort, and I felt like this reaction was a bit on the other
side of the line that I was wanting to play with. Even my ARMS felt a sense of fatigue. *Disclaimer- I do get this sometimes for 5K’s-
like almost an initial tingling in my arms until I normalize and settle into
mile 2.
Anyway, so I trusted my pace, kept at it, tried to mentally
get a bit soft and feel a little bit of relaxation in my jaw, focused on good
form and being efficient, gentle forward lean, fast arm and foot cadence,
driving each other. Mile 2, my misery
continued. I felt annoyed at this
continuation. My thought was, “I don’t
like this.” I didn’t really want to do
6.2 miles of misery and I felt like I should be more settled into my
uncomfort. As I was wondering when that
might happen, my mind drifted to when WAS the last 10K I had done (running/ not
as part of a triathlon). And it has BEEN
A FREAKING WHILE!! And then MY LIGHT started to kick in, realizing--- this
feels this way because THIS IS WHAT I NEED!
I haven’t DONE this and if I want to be BETTER AT THIS, I NEED TO DO
THIS! I am fine going out and doing 1
mile intervals with a jog recovery, or sprints with x amount of walk recovery,
these “known” workouts to my body’s system.
BUT THIS IS IT, this is ME BEING OUT THERE, as we do… BEING
VULNERABLE. SEEING WHAT IS
AVAILABLE! SEEING HOW HARD WE CAN
MAINTAIN, HOW LONG WE CAN MANAGE PAIN AND A BIT OF SUFFERING. HOW can we strengthen our minds to stay with
the effort, to remain in the arena of discomfort and challenge and
unknown. So, yes, I began especially by
mile 3 to WELCOME this race of re-entering this place of being open to testing
and hurt and work.
I stuck it out, and LOVED the race by the end. Oh, I was a bit miserable also. But.. I challenged myself as best as I could
throughout the entire thing. There was
about 60 seconds at mile 4 that I did back off for a little as I thought I was
going to need a bathroom😊 BUT,
I picked it back up and survived that as well😊!!
My splits (so that I can use for training and my next 10K
which I am looking to plan) were:
7:22, 7:27, 7:32, 7:34, 7:44, 7:08, 7:24. 46:40 total time.
I honestly cannot wait for the next one.
