Yowzah!

That's really the only word I have (Internet appropriate) for what I thought when I crossed the finish line today.  I had an interesting morning, the kind of morning you only have when you've gone crazy while training for a race.

I didn't hear my 3:30am alarm.  That's the alarm I set so I could get some calories in my system.  Instead, I woke up at 4:30, swore to myself (not proud of that), and ate some food.  I then tried to go back to sleep for an hour.  I think I feel asleep right before 5:30am, when my alarm went off again, signaling that I need to get up.

This was a rough week.  I didn't sleep as much as I should have and I had major, major shin trouble on every run.  So much that the shin trouble turned into knee trouble on Thursday, cutting my run very, very short.  So, I guess I'm injured, but it goes in and out, as all my injuries, so it's more tricky.  I didn't get to do one of my tempo workouts this week and so I was not very confident about this morning.

The plan: To run 2 laps of an 8K course (8K = 4.97 miles) plus another mile nice and easy and then race the local 8K, which is the first race in the local Grand Prix.  My workout today called for 16 miles with the last 30 minutes hard, so this is the plan I settled on.  The run did not start well.  My shin was screaming at me (that's how I describe my pain...in terms of the volume that a body part is communicating to me) within a mile.  I had to stop about once per mile and stretch out my shin before I kept running in some pain.  As I neared the end of the first lap, I was going to stop, but the pain was gone.  I ran the second lap with no pain.  This seems so weird to me.  I ran my extra mile, making it 11 pre-race and then got my number.  I ran the 11 miles just under 9 minute pace, which is what I've been doing on my easy runs, so I felt like everything was as it should be (how soon I forget the shin pain).  I had only about 15 minutes to get ready for the race, which was great.  There was no time to do anything but shed the fuel belt, change my shoes, change my shirt, pin my number on, and get to the start.  Oh, and at the start, I saw my podiatrist.  I cursed him under my breath for not caring enough to help me get better.

The start was bizarre.  There were a bunch of kids standing in front of me and everyone was packed tightly, so trying to stand in front of them was hard.  Then, all of the sudden, people were moving.  I didn't even hear a gun or anything.  I took off and hit my watch as I crossed the line.  I was anxious to get ahead of these kids, confident that I was going to beat them over five miles.  

First mile: 7:18.  What?  I don't think I'm supposed to run that fast, but then again, I felt okay.  I was working my tail off and breathing hard, but that's what I was supposed to do today.  But, I probably went out too fast.  

Second mile: 7:22.  Okay, so now I'm thinking the first mile wasn't really a fluke and I should try to keep this going.  This is when I start doing lots of math in my head to figure out where I'll finish and where I want to finish.

Third mile: 7:10.  Oh man, it would be awesome if this was a 5K, because I could have finished feeling great.  I knew that as soon as I hit that 3rd mile marker, things were going to get tough.  Indeed, mile four was challenging.  A few people passed me and the two women I was chasing (who were taunting me by casually chatting the whole time) were getting a bit further afield.

Fourth mile: 7:26.  Yup, it was a struggle, but not disaster.  I was giving everything I had to just keep going as strong as I started.

Last almost-mile: 7:13, finishing at 36:32 (watch time, not "gun" time).  Yowzah!  I really have no idea where this race came from today, but running another PR this month is pretty great.  I keep a list of my PRs as I accomplish them and it's amazing that I can remember every race, not every detail, but I can picture some part of the course that reminds me of that day and in most cases, I can picture the finish line.  I know that one day I might not remember these races, due to old age or too many races crowding my memory, but right now, it's so enjoyable to think about the fun I've had running over the years.

Oh yeah, and legit runner and 2004 Olympian Kate O'Neill won the women's race today.  The running competition out here is awesome and  I think the big guns will continue to come out for the Grand Prix.

I'd like to give a shout out to Brad Hudson, my "coach."  I'm following his book's training plan for Eugene and I'm pretty happy so far.  The only thing I need to do right now is back off a bit to save something for May and take care of my legs.  Ice bath will happen later today, after I nap.