Or the last race in my "Race to Fitness" quest (cue Katie cringing).
I had been able to successfully drop under 10:00/mile (hooray), but I really, really wanted to get back to sub-30:00 in this race. When I ran it back in 2015, it was one of my fastest-ever 5K times. I knew I probably wouldn't get back into the sub-28s, but I knew if I tried, I could probably get sub-30. Hopefully. In keeping with my MAF runs, I also got up to four miles in the week and a half between Thanksgiving and the race to help with the endurance issues I had been having.
Race day comes and we thought it would be kind of warm. Well, it was ... except for the cloud cover and the breeze. Silly Colorado ...
Buff, singlet, arm warmers ... would it be enough???
Since we were in the open wave, we'd be the absolute last wave to go off (yes, I actually had Brandon again for this race!). We waited until maybe 10, 15? minutes to race start to venture outside (we got to Boulder SUPER early to be able to get ideal parking as we had to bust ass out of there post-race to get to curling on time).
We realized that if one was in the sun, the temperature was okay.
Pre-race.
Personalized bibs are the best.
We had tossed around running this one together, but knew that wasn't the goal for either of us, so we went off separately.
I think Brandon beat me out of the gate, so to speak, but I passed him fairly early on (since I'm worse at pacing better at downhills than he is). I made it to the first mile without walking, but needed a walk break at that point since I knew the pace was waaaaay too fast. Husband passed me at this point and I picked it back up.
I told Brandon that the course was pretty flat and fast ... well, I guess the powers that be changed it up a bit since it was a LOT more undulating. Which meant I was dying. I passed Brandon back once again, but he passed me again ... somewhere around mile two? A bit before? Maybe? ... and I was never able to retake him. He thought I was right on his heels the whole race (which unfortunately wasn't accurate), which helped him actually race this race as the first hard, painful 5K in years.
I had to walk way more than I would have liked, but I was keeping a very close eye on the ol' Garmin to see if I could make it sub-30.
Thankfully, I did.
Oh dear sweet jeebus did that hurt. Dead husband is below my hand.
Final Stats:
Time: 29:49
2/27 AG (F34)(all open wave statistics)
227/1088 gender
525/1801
Fastest 5K in a really long time for me and I was able to make it hurt. The running segments (of the run/walks) in that final half mile or so were in the 7s, which is ridiculous for me. But awesome.
That short, hard shit hurts ... and I'll most likely be doing a lot more of it next year. Hooray?
But first, a lot more slow, MAF slogs to get me through the winter ....
You're going to read something I don't know if you've ever read before on a monthly recap ...
This month was a successful one.
Whaaaa? I know, right? Read on ...
Swimming: 8500m (5.28 mi)
Cycling: 72.54 mi
Running: 30.06 mi
Lifting: nine sessions (4:13)
Other: two curling sessions (2:15), one elliptical session (:20), one hike (:30), one instance "race volunteering" (3:00), three rowing sessions (:45), one stairmill session (:10), two walks (1:40), four yoga sessions (1:04)
While this month was successful, there were a few (tiny) slips. I missed four total planned workouts and had one off day. I had yoga scheduled for Thanksgiving day that I spaced on (because I left it to before bed and our guests left waaaay later than expected); I missed an elliptical session the next day (felt like poop ... though I did somehow manage the swim and the lift that day); and I took this past Wednesday off - serious lack of sleep made me feel nauseous ALL DAY so I missed my swim and lift that day.
But. I also did get a bit of bonus work in. Neither walks nor curling were built in. The "race volunteering" (really cheering at IMAZ) was technically built in, but not officially. I also got a bonus ride in due to the weather being too gorgeous to waste it.
In short, I set out a (manageable) plan and executed it almost perfectly. This has been one of my best running months of the whole year (surpassed by January and February (the last times I successfully stuck to my plan) and August (camp)). I've started HR training so I have spent a lot of actual time running as well, but I feel as though it's working and I'm actually excited to keep it going through the colder months. All of my rides were around 30 minutes, but they've kept me consistent on the bike. Had we not gone down to Arizona, I probably would have had more bike mileage. "But couldn't you have taken the bikes down?" you might ask. Well, yes, we could have, but let's not kid ourselves, we probably wouldn't really have ridden as much as hoped. Besides, being gone for a week was a great excuse to throw the bikes in the shop for some much needed TLC. Swimming, had I not missed my final swim, would have been over 10k, which would have been AWESOME, but alas, I dislike choking back bile in the pool, and that would have been my life Wednesday had I swum. No thanks.
The bestest most amazing part of this month though? I have actually enjoyed it.
No, seriously.
It's taken 11 months and a lot of soul searching (and serious reorganization of 2018 plans; more on that in a month), but I'm actually enjoying the day to day of moving my body, and I could not be happier.
I've got my last race of the year coming up tomorrow, and then it's time to hammer out the details of 2018 and settle in to a nice solid offseason training groove.
