Run, Run, Rudolph

Hey guys!  Here's the race report for the 10th Annual Reindeer Run 5k.

I went to Derek's company party on Friday night, and was a little annoyed that I couldn't really drink a lot because of this race.  Oh well.  I had one drink and then lots of water.  It's probably a good thing I held back anyway, because I was really tired from the week.

Got up Saturday morning at 7, and for a minute there, considered bailing.  It was just so warm in bed!  But then I realized that I'm not only accountable to myself now, but to people reading this! (Thanks for motivating me by doing nothing other than reading this and checking up on me!)

I dragged myself out of bed, made a PB&J sandwich (pre-race meal o'choice), and skipped the coffee actually.  I figured it might just make me have to go to the bathroom and that I'd consider it a treat for when I was done.

I didn't really know what to expect from this race.  It was my first race post-marathon, and I didn't do any speed training leading up to it except for a little bit of a faster interval workout on Wednesday.  I wanted to try my best, but also didn't want to risk further injuring my foot, which had just started to feel sorta normal.  That being said, it's the last race of the year on the Hermes calendar, and I wanted to go out with a bang.  Let's see how it went.

Left the house around 8 and got to Lakewood Park by 8:25.  Got my stuff and thankfully it was warm inside the park's building, because it was FREEZING outside!  29 degrees!  I wore my tights, a hat, and gloves and was still chilly getting there.  I did a good, long warmup (according to Runner's World, you should do 15-30 minutes of warmup for a 5k because you start off pretty fast from the start).  So I did about 20 minutes, then wanted to make sure I had enough time to drop off my heavy sweatshirt at the car and line up.

Felt nice at the beginning, not cold anymore and I could actually feel my fingers.  A lot of people were dressed in goofy costumes, as I had predicted.  Reindeer antlers, red and green outfits, etc.  There were 800 runners there, too!  Wow!  Much bigger than any race at Lakewood Park I've done.

I wanted to go out pretty strong, but was tied up at the start and didn't cross the line for about a minute.  No matter, because these race organizers had finally gotten the memo about the D-Tag chip timing (previous races in this park had just been start whenever, and rip off part of your bib at the end and give it to the guy in the chute).  I had conveniently forgotten my watch today - D'oh!  but I knew there'd be someone yelling out times at the mile markers.

I passed a bunch of people in the first mile, which I felt good about but also made me feel like I was going too fast.  When I approached the first mile marker, I heard "9:56...9:58..." and when I crossed, "10 minutes."  I was a little discouraged, as I thought I was going faster than a 10-minute mile, or at least my effort told me I might not be as ready to race as I had hoped.  Then I thought about the delayed start and I felt ok.

I did my usual self-talk during a 5k....Mile 1: Hold back, Mile 2: Hold pace, Mile 3: Hold on.  It worked to a certain degree, but it was really cold and I wasn't used to running fast in that just yet.  At one point, I overheard an oft-told running joke:

Guy: Hey, How're you doing?
Girl: I can't seem to catch my breath.
Guy: Well, then you'd better keep running after it!

Ha, ha.

I got a little water but it had turned partially to ice - bleck! Forget that idea.  The second mile marker was 19:20 according to the volunteer, which would be 9:20.  That's more like it!

I always dread the last mile of a 5k.  I feel like I'm crawling, yet I'm trying my best.  I start seeing others who have finished, just chatting away.  Arg, this is taking forever!

Plus, I was stuck directly in front of a woman with the louuuudest breathing EVER!  And it was right on rhythm.  I just kept hearing, "HUHHHHN [step step step} HUHHHN [step step step}" over and over.  I had the feeling she was trying to catch up to me, or use me to pull her along because it was right over my left shoulder and I couldn't get rid of her.  I used this to force myself to run a little bit faster just to get out of earshot.  Finally the third mile marker came - 28:45 (same as last time!), or 9:25.  Not bad considering I felt like crap.  At the turn into Lakewood park I frickin' kicked it in like nobody's business and finally lost the loud breather!  I felt like my kick was great yesterday.  I ran in when the clock said 29:30 but I checked the actual results online today and it was actually 29:10! So, not a PR but 30 seconds faster than the last 5k I did.

I felt like I had gotten run over by a bus after that, though, and really had to cool down.  I wasn't exactly thirsty or hungry, but I had a banana and a bottle of water for good measure.  I just kept feeling the cold in my lungs.  Plus, today I am actually sore!  Haven't gotten sore after a race in a while...I guess it shows I wasn't that prepared this time and that the month of recovery actually did bring me a little bit out of the zone.  It's ok though; I have never rested and recovered that well and now I feel fresh and happy about the upcoming months.

Then Derek and I did a little holiday shopping, as well as some furniture shopping for ourselves!  We got a La-z-Boy - finally something else to sit on in the living room!  This is the one we ordered:

The style is called the Lancer.  It is so comfortable!!!! We're going to pick it up on Saturday.

Other than that, not much else to report.  Having a great, relaxing weekend.  By the way, does anybody else feel that it is much easier to get up early on weekends than on weekdays?  What up with that!?