11.22.2010

One of the best ever.

I don't know how it happened. Was it the new off brand athletic socks I got at Target the day prior? Was it because I had a bagel with butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar for breakfast? Was it the three glasses of wine I had the night prior? I don't know. But whatever it was, it worked.

Sunday's run club was one of the best runs I have ever had. Ever. Like, in six years. We met at LifeTime at Easton. We had a group of about 10 that morning, which was lovely. We decided to head out to the Alum Creek Trail, which is .7 miles from the gym. I originally planned on the normal 5 mile route, but then i found out there was a nice 7 mile route on the same trail. I hadn't pushed past 5 in a while, so I decided to give it a shot.

Some of the newer folks at Run Club were "fast people." Those folks that look like it's effortless but are actually going really fast. I felt like a second grader trying to catch up to the high school kids. But I wanted to push myself, so I took the "long route" with ("with" being used quite loosely in this sense) the fast runners - the 7 mile route. The funny thing is, the run never felt great. I felt like I was dragging a bit, but my body felt good. I kept trying to "catch up" then "just keep them in my sight" then "just try not to show up too far behind them at the turnaround." They were waiting at the turn around with our run coach, and he pulled back to me and said "I expect you to catch them on the way back!" I said HA, and we all took off. They were out of my sight within two minutes.

I kept plugging along - it was a beautiful day and there were birds everywhere. I just enjoyed the temps, the birdsong and the trail. I finally came out of the woods to the last bit of the Alum Creek Trail when I finally saw a couple people not that far ahead of me. "Sweet! Maybe I can catch up!"

Then I realized that the folks in front of me were the tail end of the people who had done the 5 mile route. WHAT? I'm catching up to the 5 milers? SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET. That got me to put on the gas a bit. I caught up and passed them, then kept hauling. I got across the street and saw the "fast group." They were WALKING. Here is where I make my move. I stepped on the gas and made it my mission to go cruising past them.

And that I did. It took about .2 miles, but I caught up then ran right past the "fast" walkers. Sure, they were walking, but I came in ahead of them. When I reached the gym and looked at my RunStar stats on my phone, my jaw dropped. 6.9 miles. 9:34/mile. HOLY CRAP.

SPLITS
Mile 1: 9:47
Mile 2: 9:15
Mile 3: 9:46
Mile 4: 9:39
Mile 5: 9:19
Mile 6: 9:45
Mile .9: 8:26

I'm still riding that high :-)

Thursday is the Turkey Trot. goal? Sub 30 minute 5K. I CAN DO THIS.

4 comments:

KovasP said...

Definitely the wine.

M said...

You know, I think you may be right. Wine is the pre-race fuel!

Anonymous said...

OMG awesome ! Congrats !

You'll rock that 5K on Thursday !

Rachel said...

YIPPEE! I love those great runs. And the runner's high that comes with it. Cheers to killer runs!