My first race in more than 12 years! Crazy!!!
It felt so great to race again! I was mostly excited, but a little bit nervous at the beginning. I felt like I was 15 years old again. Thankfully, I'm not... those kids are fast!!!
So, let's cut to the chase... I finished first in my age group (30-34) with a total time of 26:17 (for which I received a lovely orange and black ribbon). Unfortunately, I don't know what place I finished overall, but hopefully they'll post that information soon. Regardless of my overall place, I'm pretty thrilled with where I ended up. My time was much faster than I anticipated and I somehow managed to pace myself fairly well... even after all these years.
I was a little nervous after my first mile when I saw I ran it in 8:30, but I was feeling really good and saw no reason to slow down. At the 2 mile mark I was at 16:58 (an 8:28 mile) and couldn't believe I'd managed to keep my pace that well, let alone that I still felt strong enough to not slow down. Unfortunately, my last mile was a little bit slower, but not by too much (9:19 for 1.1 miles is about an 8:45 mile pace).
I found it really easy to get back into my old race mind set. I remembered all of the mental tricks I used for passing people in a race and the head games I'd play as I passed them to let them know that they shouldn't bother trying to keep up with me. I forgot how much fun that could be! Sure, it doesn't sound very sportsmanlike, but let me give you an example... When I was in high school, I didn't have a very strong kick at the end of the race, which meant I needed to put as much distance between myself and my opponents as I possibly could so they couldn't beat me in the last 100 yards. I needed them to think I was stronger than them and that it wasn't worth it to try to beat me, even though I knew that they could likely sprint faster than me if they wanted to. Here's what worked for me...
When you're nearing the end of a race and the group has spread out a bit and it becomes more difficult to find people to pass, you have to find something to make you go faster... a reason to work harder... after all, you're not out for a jog... you're racing. So, you find someone ahead of you that looks like they're getting tired. You take a few moments to note all of the signs they're giving you to let you know how tired they are. Then you give yourself a quick once-over and remind yourself not to do any of those things as you tie a mental rope around their waist and slowly pull yourself up to where they are. Once you catch them you relax your breathing and try to do all of the things you're supposed to do when you're running... take long deep breaths, put your shoulders back, bring your knees up higher and continue to stride right past them. Their breathing is labored and they sound exhausted. Never look at them as you pass... after all, you're not at all concerned that they're going to be competitive with you.
Now, imagine yourself as that exhausted runner just trying to make it to the finish line. You're tired and can't catch your breath. Out of nowhere comes this runner who looks like they've got all the energy in the world. They're having no trouble breathing. They're strong and confident. There's no way in the world you could ever keep up with them. If you've ever been the one getting passed towards the end of a race, you know exactly how this feels. I can assure you, I didn't feel like I had all the energy in the world, I didn't feel strong and confident and I certainly did have trouble catching my breath. I was giving it all I had. All I needed to push myself for that last half mile was someone behind me thinking all of those things about me... that's what encouraged me to give it every little bit I had left. It's all a mental game... and I so loved playing it again!!!
With my 5k under my belt, I'm already looking forward to training for a 10k... but I think I deserve a day off, so I'm thinking that training will begin Tuesday :)
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