Running …

… because I can … because it's fun … because it's healthy … just BECAUSE.

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10 Surf ‘n’ Santa 10 Miler headlines

You are not going to hear me complain about being just a couple of minutes off my 10-mile PR after running in some horribly windy, cold and rainy conditions at Saturday’s Surf ‘n’ Santa 10 Miler. I’m pretty thrilled at how well things went in the weather.

There’s nothing really to talk about, so I thought of 10 headlines for a recap that I’ll never write. I don’t really know what else to say besides it was rainy, windy and colder than forecast.

In no particular order, here you go:

  • Worst weather ever
  • I would have PR’d if it was sunny
  • Running with one eye open
  • The PR streak ends
  • Live and learn. There’s always next year
  • The day I started wanting to train for PRs again
  • The racing season that wasn’t
  • Too exhausted for beer
  • 10 miles of rain, wind, cold and almost tears
  • Headwind hell

Read into those and you’ll figure out that this was a crazy, crazy day at Virginia Beach. I don’t know if I’ll come back to this race and try to redeem myself or if it was a one-and-done experience, but I definitely had a great time.

A revival race?

No bib at this race, just a timing chip.

As racing has taken a back seat this year, I’ve lost a lot of interest in my personal performance. While I’ve had my share of fun and enjoyed the thrill of helping my sister get to two PRs, personal goals for me just haven’t important.

Earlier this month I thought about signing up for the 5-mile turkey trot near my in-laws’ house in Ohio. I brushed those thoughts aside until last week when I thought about it a little more. Then, finally, I signed up on Monday.

With the weather forecast full of snow, cold and wind, I figured I’d have another race to enjoy the experience and walk away satisfied that I ran something a little faster than a run through my neighborhood.

I took the approach to the start of the Warren Kiwanis Turkey Trot pretty casual — with not having much cold-weather running experience lately, running at just under 20 degrees was a bit of a shock to my system. In the first mile I noticed my Garmin acting up — before the race started it kept returning to the home screen — so I just turned it off and put it in my pocket.

I hit the first mile in a clock time around 8:45. I was probably about 20 seconds back from the timing mat at the start, so I was pleasantly happy with the first mile.

At mile 2, the clock read 16:45. I at least knew I hit that mile in 8 minutes. I had a lot going through my mind more than usual — could I get under 40 minutes for this race? Could I stop feeling like crap at the end of a race? “Finish strong” hasn’t exactly been my power phrase in the past year.

I don’t remember what mile 3 read, but I hit mile 4 at just over 32 minutes. I knew that another 8-minute mile would get me to a sub-40 minute chip time, but I really wanted my clock time to read under 40. I felt like I was just making up goals with every step, but it was working.

I picked up the pace to get to an uncomfortable level. For the first time in a long time in a final mile, I truly felt confident about my performance. I got in a zone I haven’t seen in more than a year. I really felt like I could have easily kept that pace for a few more miles.

When I glanced at the clock at the finish, I saw 39:40. I think. I know it was under 40 minutes. I have to wait and see what my chip time is, but it’ll be closer to 39 minutes.

To be only a little more than 2 minutes off my PR at this distance in the shape I’m in and in this weather, I walked back to my vehicle completely satisfied.

If I use this as a baseline for improvement for 2014, I can’t wait to see what happens when I put more dedicated effort to training for something.

The 5k that wasn’t

If I were to run a 5k right now in 23:21, I’d be thrilled. It would mean I’d be very close to once again getting to a PR in that distance.

I ran 23:21 in an advertised 5k today.

Only problem is that was for 2.9 miles. And no, it wasn’t a Garmin issue or a weather issue causing watch problems. It was less than 3 miles, no doubt about it.

This race has problems with getting the distance right — read this post from my friend Jeremy who did the inaugural running of this event with a different course route. (And yes, I totally stole his title for this post.)

What I was hoping for today was to test where I stand with a 5k. I’ve done very little in the way of speed work lately so I knew heading into it that I’d probably be around 25 minutes. Maybe, in the right conditions, be a little closer to 24 minutes.

With this pace, I would have hit 3.1 in 25 exactly. I’ll never know though what I had left in the tank to close it out strong, or if I could even close it out strong.

I’m not going to sit around and obsess about my time and how I’ve gotten so out of 5k shape — it is what it is. And it’s what happens when I run without training for something.

Now, the work begins …

If it rains …

Shamrock Half Marathon weatherLast time I checked, rain doesn’t slow me down. My 10k PR last year was set in the rain; I’ve had a handful of other races that went well in the rain (and snow).

If it rains on Sunday at the Shamrock Half … so what?

Unless it’s windy and pouring rain, showers (which is what is in the forecast … “showers”) won’t make or break what happens. In fact, some light rain might even help. It certainly takes away the mental games that happen.

With temperatures in the low 40s and basically no chance of climbing out of the mid-40s, the weather is almost perfect. Rain has never chopped anyone’s legs off, so there’s no reason to keep thinking and talking about it.