I'm operating in reverse this week - I am currently spending my week at work recovering from my weekend. I ran an 8k on Sunday morning. It was great! I really enjoy racing. I was nervous beforehand because I have never run that far in a race and the weather was supposed to be miserable. Happily, the weather cooperated and it was about 50 degrees and overcast, but not raining. It started to drizzle at about mile 4, but the pouring rain held off until I was walking back to the car. It was perfect!
I had three goals for this race: 1) finish the race; 2) run more than I walked; and 3) finish in under an hour and fifteen minutes.
I achieved all three!
I am very excited, as this is only the second race that I have ever actually run. I have registered for a number of local 5ks for charity, but I walked all but one of them. I don't have a Garmin, so I have no idea what my splits were, but I do know that my pace was 10:36. In training, I generally seem to be in the neighborhood of a 12 minute mile, so I was happy with my pace. It didn't feel super fast, but when I hit the two hills on the course at around miles 2 and 4, I had enough energy to shorten my steps and speed up my turnover.
When I felt like I couldn't keep going, I kept giving myself permission to stop and walk at a point within sight ahead. Each time I got to the point I had chosen, I realized that I didn't need to stop. I ran the whole way!
Before I knew it, I was looking at the home stretch. Around mile 2, I chose three women running nearby (okay, slightly ahead) of me to pace myself. I told myself that I would try to stick close to them and pass them at the end if I could. At mile 4, one of them took off and left me in the dust. As I approached the finish line, I really didn't have much left in the tank, but I was able to power myself past my two remaining pacers. Being a competitive person, I was happy I was able to do that.
I finished the race in 52:44.83. I won't be winning any medals with that time, but I really enjoyed the race and can't wait to do it again. I have a PR to beat now! An added bonus: I test drove running with a new handheld Camelbak water bottle, which I really liked, and I ran with an Amphipod Airflow Microstretch belt to carry my phone and car key. In the future, if I do decide to train for a half marathon, I will need somewhere to stash fuel. I'm not crazy about carrying water, but I also hate trying to drink fast from a paper cup. With the water bottle, I had my nuun and could cruise right past the water stations. I am convinced that it made a difference in my time. I am going to call this a successful race and test run!
Showing posts with label 8k. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 8k. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Performance Anxiety
I am experiencing performance anxiety on a couple of fronts right now. I am applying for jobs, and each one has a questionnaire online that is the first weed out. I have a tendency to overthink answering these questions, which are directly related to the skills required to get hired for the job. I read the posting and think to myself, "I can do this job, no problem!" Then I get into the questionnaire and start second guessing myself, "Well, I know this, but do I technically have 'experience' in it? I should answer no to this." And I don't even want to think about how I psych myself out on the open ended questions. I am generally an articulate person, but on these essay questions I lose my ability to put two words together coherently.
I didn't have this much trouble with the bar exam, for crying out loud!!
I am also getting nervous about running my first race since before my daughter was born. Most people probably would have started with a 5k, but for some reason I saw this 8k at my alma mater and couldn't resist. I live about 5 minutes from campus, which added to the appeal. I then told my sister-in-law about it, because she has recently started running as well, and she signed up too. So there is no chickening out! My legs have felt like lead this week - I'm tired and my allergies are raging. It has been beautiful weather for the past week, sunny and warm. We don't usually get this many days in the 70s this time of year, so I was happy thinking that it will be a beautiful spring morning to go for a run. It's not meant to be. The forecast for Sunday morning is 60 degrees and pouring rain. I should have known that would happen, as Murphy and I are good friends. I generally don't run outside when it's raining, as there are few things I hate more than being cold and wet.
I especially dislike having cold wet feet, a fact that my dad teased me about for years. When I was a teenager, I was a competitive swimmer. I swam year round, spent most of my time wet, and would go outside with wet hair in the dead of winter (it did freeze, in case you were wondering), without a second thought. But stepping in a puddle and having cold wet feet made me absolutely miserable. So the idea of running in the rain in any season but summer is not something that exhilirates me.
Still, there are many upsides that I have to keep in mind. Once I get warmed up, I think I can make the 5 miles...if I don't stop. Once I get in my groove, I feel like I can go forever. It's actually very much like when I was a distance swimmer. I had two speeds - on and off. If I can get "on", then I will be fine. And no matter how I do, I will set a personal record (PR), because it's a distance I have never raced before.
And finally, I don't want to wish the rain away - we are on the verge of a drought here, and I would rather have some rain than end up in a drought situation. It has been nice to have our solar panels generating so much energy and hot water (building up a credit to pay for our air conditioning this summer!), but I also plant a vegetable garden each year and I want to be able to put my seedlings outside to get rained on and start to harden off.
I feel better now that I've given myself this little pep talk. I am excited to apply for a new job and try something new, and to run a distance I've never tried before. I need to keep my eye on the prize and not talk myself out of great experiences!
I didn't have this much trouble with the bar exam, for crying out loud!!
I am also getting nervous about running my first race since before my daughter was born. Most people probably would have started with a 5k, but for some reason I saw this 8k at my alma mater and couldn't resist. I live about 5 minutes from campus, which added to the appeal. I then told my sister-in-law about it, because she has recently started running as well, and she signed up too. So there is no chickening out! My legs have felt like lead this week - I'm tired and my allergies are raging. It has been beautiful weather for the past week, sunny and warm. We don't usually get this many days in the 70s this time of year, so I was happy thinking that it will be a beautiful spring morning to go for a run. It's not meant to be. The forecast for Sunday morning is 60 degrees and pouring rain. I should have known that would happen, as Murphy and I are good friends. I generally don't run outside when it's raining, as there are few things I hate more than being cold and wet.
I especially dislike having cold wet feet, a fact that my dad teased me about for years. When I was a teenager, I was a competitive swimmer. I swam year round, spent most of my time wet, and would go outside with wet hair in the dead of winter (it did freeze, in case you were wondering), without a second thought. But stepping in a puddle and having cold wet feet made me absolutely miserable. So the idea of running in the rain in any season but summer is not something that exhilirates me.
Still, there are many upsides that I have to keep in mind. Once I get warmed up, I think I can make the 5 miles...if I don't stop. Once I get in my groove, I feel like I can go forever. It's actually very much like when I was a distance swimmer. I had two speeds - on and off. If I can get "on", then I will be fine. And no matter how I do, I will set a personal record (PR), because it's a distance I have never raced before.
And finally, I don't want to wish the rain away - we are on the verge of a drought here, and I would rather have some rain than end up in a drought situation. It has been nice to have our solar panels generating so much energy and hot water (building up a credit to pay for our air conditioning this summer!), but I also plant a vegetable garden each year and I want to be able to put my seedlings outside to get rained on and start to harden off.
I feel better now that I've given myself this little pep talk. I am excited to apply for a new job and try something new, and to run a distance I've never tried before. I need to keep my eye on the prize and not talk myself out of great experiences!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)