Today was the Baltimore Ten Miler Race Steph and I signed up for so long ago. We had a love/hate relationship with the training for this race... it seemed I loved to hate the structure demanded of the training as much as I appreciated it for the Cherry Blossom. Given, this race was different; I already knew I could finish and not topple over at the end. As the days (many filled with rain or heat reaching levels I never need) turned to weeks, the goal of finishing in an hour and forty minutes became less and less important. This week I came to the conclusion that I just wanted the race to be fun... to celebrate that my training period has entered a remission and to let go of the idea that running is a chore... Running over the summer will be an act of enjoyment without the pressures or concerns of making a specific mark.
Even with expectations of a pace or a PR lifted, I wondered this morning if the race could be enjoyable. The weather looked grim--the doppler showed heavy rain and possible lightening moving in with mild heat. The course was certainly hillier than the Cherry Blossom--forging ahead on the hills would be par for course. But Steph had decided to run along side me, instead of jetting off in her typical gazelle manner. All factors considered, we strategically planned to walk and run. I suggested five minute runs at a 9:30 pace and one minute walks at a 17/18:00 pace (a combination that I had become comfortable doing my solo trainings on the hills of Baltimore county).
We chose the comfortable route--to use the facilities before we began (smelly but worthwhile choice). The skies opened as our chips hit the pad; the course inside the park would prove to be very wet. Our place was at the end of the pack. Far from crowded as we worked to find our stride, it gave us the chance to enjoy the setting we were in, which would be more difficult to notice on the return climb to the the finish. There were the characters of our race--people who knew they weren't winning so they decided to enjoy it--a joggler and racing jump roper, other run/walkers, and true recreational participants. We overheard people talking and laughing as we passed by.
We stayed the course with our plan... our miles varied by entire minutes, most likely depending on whether one or two walk periods fell within a mile and the number of hills we encountered. The race was fairly flat for Baltimore; I remember several small to medium sized hills along the way and Steph was willing to concede it was a 'hilly' course. We cheered the speedy cheetahs on their return. We viewed specks of color moving around the circular lake, many in front of us and some behind. We thanked the police officers as we passed by the streets they were preventing cars from passing. We smiled for the cameras, running in stride as we passed. We couldn't escape the commissioner or his recruits (see a future post for more on that), and appreciated the spirit of the game and activity. We picked people off (mostly on the uphills), and I felt a sense of pride knowing I was not among the heaviest of breathers.
I felt good until mile 8, and then I was tired. At that point, though, we had started taking some of the walks out of the plan... The ever-ever-so-sly Steph suggested we only walk on an upwards incline, which seemed logical to me... Funny how it turned out that, with the exception of the final mile climb, I remember more downhills than up (even though I know that is highly improbable). The last mile was painful involving the skies welcoming us back with a heavy, squishy-in-the-shoes, downpour, a hill that inched on forever, and hard miles that seemed to go on forever. It wasn't so bad that I wanted to quit altogether, I suppose, but Steph's extra shot of motivation definitely inspired my legs to remain in running mode.
Steph said the race was long, measuring in on her Garmin at 10.33 miles. At 10 miles, our time for the race was 1:39:43, thereby breaking my goal and previous record. The official time will be a bit longer, but it still will be faster than my Cherry Blossom pace. The time really didn't matter to me, though. I crossed a threshold today; it was not that I had a PR (a nice side feat), but that running did NOT seem like a chore. I will think back to the camaraderie of the day--runners together--Steph and me--in the storm making their way. Even in the rain, and maybe because of the rain, and certainly because I had Steph at my side, I liked it... and that's a memory worth keeping.
2 comments:
Glad to hear of you continued running success. I know whatever the challenge you will succeed.
YAHOO!! Great job!
Your words have given me motivation for my race soon--swimming 1.5K in a lake. Though you two will not be beside me, you will be, as always, in my thoughts pushing me along and also bringing me a bit of joy along the way.
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