speedvegan

Yay for bananas !

Chip Time: 1:55:14
Average Pace: 8:47
Overall Place: 655 out of 2601
Age Group Place: 39 out of 264

Splits (Garmin Data)
Mile 1: 9:39
Mile 2: 9:11
Mile 3: 8:50
Mile 4: 8:22
Mile 5: 8:48
Mile 6: 8:37
Mile 7: 8:44
Mile 8: 8:37
Mile 9: 8:49
Mile 10: 9:12
Mile 11: 9:00
Mile 12: 8:48
Mile 13: 8:09

As of late, I’ve felt that my races don’t really deserve race reports anymore. It’s always the same story – same venues, same distances, same preparations, same overall outcomes. Then, the stars aligned and I was able to sign up for an out of state race. Last time I attempted that, injury put me out and I was stuck in race city with a couple of fractured feet and a whole lot of nothing to do. This time the race happened to be on a weekend when I’d be in race city anyway. Race or not, I’d still have a great time with friends and Geoffrey.

There’s always a catch, though. I’m a flatlands girl and the race was in hilly Atlanta. I wasn’t able to train properly and even had to change my training schedule around because I’ve been having issues with my feet again. Even on the day prior to the race my feet were still sore. This scared me because I have three more races scheduled before the end of the year and at least two of them are very important. I thought about skipping this one, but decided to go through with it anyway.

I picked up my packet on Saturday, which was a beautiful day in Atlanta – cool, but sunny and bright. We walked leisurely about during the day, had a fantastic lunch with my friend and even went for a swim which felt great. Then we enjoyed a nice dinner at my favorite vegan spot in Atlanta, Café Sunflower.

Back at the inn, I hoped a good night’s sleep would put my feet at ease. Unfortunately, all the hip drunk kids also staying at the inn laughed, screamed and talked loudly ALL NIGHT. I slept solidly for about two hours, finally put in some earplugs and then tossed and turned to the sound of my own heartbeat and distant murmuring until it was time to get ready.

The race was a good hour away. We had to catch a cab from the inn to the train station, take the train north for about 30 minutes and then walk for about a mile to the race location. We made it there with no time to spare. I literally ran from the “happy can” to the starting line as the race official was counting down the seconds.

The first few miles were tough. The weather had changed overnight. Sunday morning was overcast and cooler. It wasn’t freezing, but cold enough for someone who’s been training in 90 degree weather. My nose felt frozen and my lungs hurt. Also, there were quite a few hills during the first 3 miles. My feet started to hurt immediately. Also, I hurt my knee during last weekend’s adventure race which hadn’t really been a problem until the steep down hills. By mile 4 the pain was teeth-clenching worthy, but I was already warmed up, the course had “leveled off” somewhat and I was able to pick up the pace.

From mile 4 to about 8, the course was a series of rollers. I had one gel before the race and one about 4.5 miles in. I planned to have another at mile 9, but after mile 8, the course turned into manic ups and downs and it was hard to get a drink of water even. The uphills were brutal and I was trying to use the downhills for recovery. Finally, we turned into a park for a section of the race that was flat just long enough for me to suck down a gel and take a sip of water.

Then came the big hill at mile 10. My quads felt like bricks, my left foot like someone had smashed it with a hammer, but mentally I’d had enough. I closed my eyes and thought “mind over pain” all the way to the top of the bloody hill and back down the steep descent. It was all rollers to the end after that. I bit my lip and kept pushing all the way to the end.

Somehow, I had managed to ignore the pain for the last few miles, but once I stopped cold, the pain came piercing back. I was sweaty and started to get cold right away. I put my name down for a massage which was great. I walked back to the train station with Geoffrey. Once back at the inn, I was afraid of taking my shoes off. I felt like my toes would fall apart without something to hold them in place. Fortunately, this didn’t ACTUALLY happen and I was able to treat myself to an off-and-on hot shower and excellent brunch with my friends and Geoffrey.

Poor Geoffrey came to the race with me. It was very cold (for someone who wasn’t running) but, as always, he didn’t complain and was supportive and patient with me throughout the whole event. I’m very lucky.

Overall I’m happy with the way the race turned out. I had worst case scenarios in my head ranging from having to drop out to being scooped away by an ambulance mid-race. Not only was I able to finish, but I beat my goal time by a few seconds. That means a lot more to me than if I had beat it by minutes because it confirms that I couldn’t have pushed myself any harder. It wasn’t a perfect race, but I did the best I could considering the circumstances.

Waiting for a much needed massage