Feeling Fit
I've had another promising race and set of workouts since my last entry..
Over a week ago (Nov 18) I had my first cross country team experience
since I ran for UW-La Crosse at NCAA's in 2005. It had been a while,
and this got me thinking about why i love cross so much. I love the
steeple, but there is something so special about xc- i am trying to get
better at letting myself really run balls to the wall in track - but i
always seem to do better without the lap counters, the constant clock
in you face or the huge focus on hitting those exact splits. In XC i
love having the team to compete for, the varibles that make it tougher
- the rain, mud, hills, slop whatever.. and just knowing its a new
course and everyone has to face the same stuff on the same day. No
rankings, no focus on PRs.
I have been blessed with good health and even though i have choosen to
live a poor lifestyle and have put my working career to the
backburner.. i do not have any regrets. I would not choose another way
to go about my training.. for me to best i can be and give
me the best chance to continue on a steady road of improvement until I
make my first US Team, I don't think i could do it any other way. And I
no matter what level of competition i end up i will never forget the
fun i've had along the way.
I know i am not th most phscilyblessed with speed person out here and
i'm sure many others in my situation regardless of their love for the
sport would just make it a hobby.. but i'm not going to just put it 2nd
and be normal and be financially secure. . yes it would nice, but this
is what its going to take.. and this is the best way i can run - living
from check to check hoping i can get lucky and show up for a road race
with some prize money ..
This last race reminded me of why all the sacrifice in an everyday lifestyle and training is worth it .
At the GVH Invite, we ran a group of 5 girls.. i had the thought that
i'd be chasing down Erin, with Rob yn and Jess at my side.
The course was tough - it wasn't exactly a 6K but a little longer at 4.92 miles.
From doing the prerace the night before after a 10 hour road trip with
the team, I knew it was not going to be a fast time. The course started
in a soccer field running out about 200m .. i was running in second
behind Erin until we turned into about a 200m little uphill where i was
passed by a group- not caring knowing that i'd repass them all on the
downhill. We turned a corner into a long slight down straight - I was
back in 2nd place making some ground chasing Erin. At the mile I was
about a second behind in 5:47 on a small trail in some woods.
The course was so beautiful and the twisted trails from miles 1.5-3
were great to make the race fly by- i was just imagining myself back in
college in Hixon Forest doing a long repeat workout.. I could run like
that for every race of my life. Before the woods where we did 3
different loops, there was an extreme long steep (especially at first)
down hill that would be coming right back at us before the last 1/2
mile to the finish. It was about 600 or so meters and basically i just
free fell down the hill - where i passed Erin, took the lead and kept
it until the finish. Erin has been going through craziness in PT school
and she had been training for the 10,000m on the track - not really xc
ready. She ran a low 16 minute 3 mile road race near Halloween so I
know she is still fit, and i'm certain that this race course played to
my advantage with all the turns at hills (sort of like steeple where
you can't get in a real rhythm). . I also am looking back at my xc race
earlier this season where it was my first one and a shock to the
system. .
Anyways, I felt so strong throughout the race and had this renewed
strength coming into the final hill.. it didn't matter because i was
still practically walking at the top in front of the cheering crowd..
"But you looked real determined" someone said. haha.. I don't feel bad
because the guys were hurting too. I split something like 11:30's and
17's at the 3 mile . who knows. I know that a few of the guys on my
team split in the 5:50's from mile 3-4 with the hill! Another highlight
was when I turned a corner and flew into the woods - i crawled back
out.. earlier in the race I saw Erin grab onto a tree to help get
around the turn. :)
My time was 23:29 (course record !) and Erin was 2nd in 23:56..
Jess was our third runner in 10th (24's), then Robyn who had some
asthma problems and Steph wearing her Moto's with her IT band hurt for
5th in 12th. So we won which was awesome and a preview of what our team
will do (plus add 3 more runners) at Club Champs.
The rest of the day I did a longer cool down - didn't really feel like
i did an all out race- but this course was hard to really run all out
with all the turns and just the fatigue from the hill.. it felt like i
did a good repeat at the finish and once i got the lactic acid out from
the last mile, i'd be good to go again. I definitely credit my lifting
(doing squats, cleans, lunges, deadlifts) to my increased strength -
especially on hills and feeling like i can push off the ground better.
We had a 10 hour drive home which wasn't bad at all until we got back
to Indianapolis. My hamstrings which are chronically tight and achey
actually loosened up from the race and I didn't care how stupid I
looked at the rest stops doing my stretches, random drills or
handstands. (My teammates were making fun of me - bring it Harding !)
it was way past midnight, I had to work the next morning and i
was about to sleep until I was selected to help drive the rental
cars back home- the place was closed and we had to wait, and of course
i got hungry so i didn't get to bed until 2:30.. and that hurt me later
in the week; even though the day after my race i felt completely
fresh..
So of course I ran a little longer; and then Tuesday knowing I didn't
have a workout until Thursday - I pretty much ran hard for a good 6 of
my 10 miles. . Lifted, and I was toast on Wednesday! I flew to Virginia
and after a long day at the airport getting my bag, I drove down to
Charlottesville for a visit to check out the area.. Dawn Cromer took me
on a 9.5 miles through the hilly trails at a less than easy pace for my
fatigue, and there i was feeling the effects of travel, running and a
little low on sleep.. and all i could think about was my 3/4 marathon
workout the next day (best way to enjoy a big meal!).. but the good
news was that I had a week and Thanksgiving to spend with Alan :)
To be Continued....
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