I was pretty sure I'd have a blast, and I did. I was pretty sure I'd be sore afterwards, and I am--in fact, I seem to have Immediate Onset Muscle Soreness. I hope there's no Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness lurking in wait for tomorrow, or I won't be able to walk. What I didn't expect, though, was to run fairly fast (for me), and to actually place in my age group--both of which I did. So yeah, today was one of my more successful days, athletically speaking.
However, "wow, that went well" is not nearly long enough of a race report, is it? When I re-read this when I'm 70 (feel free to hum a few bars of "Glory Days" here), I'll want to know a few more details.
First, the pre-race breakfast. Since I'm still doing the Paleo nutrition challenge, I did a "home version" of my usual McDonald's pre-skating-race breakfast: eggs, sausage, coffee with protein powder, and for some carbs, a tasty apple-and-sweet-potato-with-cinnamon soup. It seemed to work well; the only downside was that it's not something I can eat while I'm driving, which means I had to get up earlier.
Then it was off to Excelsior to pick up my race packet, and then to walk back to CrossFit SISU, where I had parked, for some pre-race mobility. Incidentally, if anyone is looking for a great place to do CrossFit in the Southwest Metro, CrossFit SISU in Excelsior is the place. Great coaches (the same ones as at the Plymouth location), and a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility. See?
CrossFitters limbering up before the run. This place is so new the rubber floor
doesn't even smell sweaty yet.
Then it was off to the starting line. I was hoping for some Irish pre-race music--we got treated to an Irish playlist at SISU for the warm up, and I was hoping for the same at the race start but no such luck. Old 80's standbys and one obscure Bruce Springsteen song. Oh, well. We stood around just long enough to get cold, and then we were off.
Here are some things I learned during the race: I am just as intolerant of people who "run stupid" as I am of those who "drive stupid" (really, people, if you're going to walk within the first 400 yards, perhaps the front of the pack is not where you belong); I spit when I run...a LOT; apparently I can pace myself somewhat accurately for a running race,since I didn't die or have too much left at the end; the mysterious chest pain that I get sometimes when skating also seems to happen when running; I still, as I used to do back when I did running races, find myself picking out butts that I think are bigger than mine and trying to pass them before the finish line.
So the race was fun. My hands got cold and the rest of me got hot, but I managed to remove my jacket (even though, as I discovered after the race, I'd pinned it to my shirt when I pinned my number on) and tie it around my waist without stopping, dropping a glove, or slipping on one of the many ice patches. I only saw one mile marker, although there were apparently two, and so I wasn't quite sure how much farther I had to go throughout most of the race. I had wanted to try to pick up the pace at one mile to go if I still felt OK, but since I wasn't sure where that was I just tried to hold my pace--until I heard cheering and saw a fellow CrossFitter, finished with his race, on the side of the road.
"How much farther?" I wasted the breath to yell.
"Just around the corner, you're sprinting now," he yelled back, and so I did.
When I crossed the finish line I looked around and finally saw the clock--which was not, as you might expect it to be, pointed toward the oncoming runners.
25:54.
What?
That's under 9 minute miles--8:20.5's, to be exact--and I had been anticipating something between 9 and 10's, probably closer to the 10.
Cool.
I was a bit confused when no one attempted to take the tag from my race number after I finished--my last road race was a long time ago, back when they used to keep you in your finishing order in a long chute and tear the tags off your race number and then stick them on spikes in the order you finished. Yeah, I'm old.
After the race I cheered on a few more CrossFitters as they finished, then went back to SISU to change. I spent the next couple post-race hours in the back of the bar that was giving out free post-race beer (no, I didn't have any), talking to CrossFit folks and watching the SISU pullup contest that was set up in the entryway to the women's bathroom. I took my shot at the pullups, hoping to replicate my max of one strict pullup, but today was not my day; I've done a strict pullup on numerous occasions, but it still seems to be a big hit-or-miss affair, and today was a "miss." I did manage to get my chin over the bar by utilizing a half-assed kip (which is the only kind of kip I'm currently capable of), so I consider it a marginal success.
After I got home I got an email from the race informing me of my place: 25th woman out of 448; 120th overall, out of 791; and first in my age group. However, when I looked at the complete race results, it seems that I was actually second in my age group (50-59). Either way, I'm pretty happy...I think that's the highest I've ever placed in a running race. Maybe there are some advantages to getting old...it thins out the competition!
So now I have some fun memories, a lot of sore muscles...oh, yeah, and some nice souvenirs.
Tech shirt, beer mug, and yes,that's a packet of Advil. For some reason
they were giving out Advil along with the post-race
bananas and water. When you're 50 you don't turn down
free Advil.
It was so much fun I might just do another running race sometime.
No comments:
Post a Comment