So Close!

I kind of signed up on a whim.  The course ran past a building that I used to work in, so I knew the area well and thought it looked like a fast course.  It was only a 5k, and it's in the Grand Prix series.  Turned out to be a great race!  I came in 5 seconds shy of a PR.

The March of Dimes 5k Run for Healthier Babies turned out to be a ray of sunshine on a rainy dreary day.  We got out to the Tekelek parking lot just in time and settled in for a wet race.  Temps were in the low 60's and the rain was a-coming down.  We found the starting line in time and when the guy said so, we were off and running.

I tried to start out at a comfortable pace, but wanted to keep it kind of forced with a quick foot turnover.  Since it was raining, I chose not to wear the Garmin.  I could see the front of the pack, and I figured that the rain kept the crowd down to a smaller size than normal.  Still the people that win a lot of the races around here were there, and they dissapeared in the first quarter mile.

They had people sitting at the mile markers calling out times, and I hit the first mile marker when the guy said 6:30.  This was pretty shocking, since just two weeks ago I ran a 6:21 at the magnificent mile race and was ready to puke.  I tried to slow my pace a bit to prevent burnout.  The course took plenty of turns around here and there, and I ended up hitting the mile 2 marker in 13:47.  Second mile slower is a good thing here, it means I won't totally blow up in the third mile right?

Actually, I didn't blow up in the third mile like usual.  There also weren't any huge hills that popped up and I'm sure the good course was a contributing factor.  There also wasn't a clock at the finish line, which is really strange.  I gave it a good kick as soon as the finish came into sight, and asked somebody else running with a watch what kind of time we put up.  He said 21 fifty-something, and my PR is 21:58 so I was incredibly excited. 

Later on Saturday afternoon I got the official results online, and found I had scored a 22:03, a 7:07 pace.  Just missed my PR by 5 seconds!  So close.  Maybe next time, but I swear I'm not going be racing any more 5k's soon.  I finished 39 out of 298 people (M & F), and 6 of 22 in my age group.

September is done!
and what a month it was!  I was so glad to see the holiday, and the new job kick in, and my last triathlon this year, vacation, and lots of positive change.

Swim: 9300 yards, 5 swims, 1 race
Bike: 235 miles, 7 rides, 1 race
Run: 89.3 miles, 11 runs, 4 races
Strength: 4 workouts
Yoga: 24 sessions

Yes, I did actually have 4 running races in september. The OBX half iron was the only triathlon.  90 miles is pretty good for ultra training, but the long runs are about to get really long.  Like back to back, 10 miles on saturday and 18 to 22 miles on Sunday.  September also marks the end of regular biking and swimming.  I was glad to put the bike up on the rack for the winter after getting back from the OBX.  See you in February.  I'm also taking some time off from the RAM team until February.  I'll keep on riding and swimming once a week each (at most) through the winter but it's time to get low volume on everything except running.

I'm going into the triathlon off season with some enthusiasm.  Time to run more and relax more. The near PR is a great way to kick things off.  Started sunday with a 15 mile trail run with a couple of friends from the RAM team.