In order from worst to best performance, here are the three unaccounted for races from this fall:
Pumpkinman Sprint
Pumpkinman week is, perhaps, the most stressful of the year. The combination of my return to work at school and the behind-the-scenes work I'm doing as an RD for the race does not generate the best of conditions for an athlete. It's true every year, though every year I seem to forget just how difficult racing well is under the circumstances.
My performance this year was one of my worst in memory - not just for Pumpkinman, but as a race in general. I didn't swim well, I biked poorly, and I ran rather slowly. It was the trifecta of bad racing. But that happens from time to time, so it's not a huge deal. It wasn't the ideal end to a season of racing, but I welcomed the finish line none the less.
The poor result should have come as no surprise even if it hadn't been placed at the end of a hellish week. I'd had an up-and-down year in terms of results and attitude leading into the race. By the time Pumpkinman rolled around, I was ready to put my goggles and bike away for the year. I was burnt out and ready to be done for awhile. So done, in fact, that I have not been back to the pool since the race and have only touched my bike on a handful of occasions. A change of pace was in order.
Eliot Festival 5k
If you're really interested in the details of my race around Eliot, read my reports from 2011 and 2012. This race played out almost exactly like the ones from the two previous years. So closely related were the performances, that only about 6 seconds separated the three results. I took 4th place this year, which was respectable, but the finishing time was less than stellar. It was mediocre, but promising at the same time. While the 5:50/mi pace I maintained was fairly pedestrian for a 5k, I felt that I could hold it forever. I didn't have a next gear, but I was cruising at that speed. One week out from a half marathon, I felt I was in good shape regardless of two consecutive so-so performances.
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| Craig and I after going 4th and 5th overall. Obviously, I won... |
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| Nala didn't care how the race went, she was just happy to see me afterwards |
Maine Half Marathon
In 2006 I ran the Maine Marathon. It was and will always be the worst racing experience of my life. Completely underprepared (or at least ill-prepared) to run 26.2 miles, the wheels did more than fall off at mile 16, they completely disintegrated. The final 10 miles of that day were awful and I finished more than one hour short of my worst expected time. It was that race that pushed me into triathlon. I gave up on road running, thinking I was terrible and had no aptitude for running as a standalone sport. While my reasoning behind that decision was clearly flawed, things worked out for the best. Yet, I regret stepping away from road racing so completely and abruptly.
About six weeks before the 2013 half marathon that shared the roads with that fateful marathon of 2006, Craig signed me up to run. We'd toyed with the idea of running a longer race together and I'm glad he made the executive decision to force my return to long distance running.
Going into the race, I was unsure how my body would react. As my training and racing has been geared toward shorter, faster efforts for many years, I toed the start line with no idea how my body would respond in the second half of the race. I'd made the decision to race fairly aggressively as I had nothing on the line except some pride. So, rather than go for a conservative goal of breaking my (very slow) PR, I decided to run as close to 1:25 as possible on a fairly hilly course.
I set my pace to 6:35 early in the race and stayed there for the first 6 miles. At the turnaround, I felt shockingly fresh and moved the pace closer to 6:30. By 10 miles I was still floating across the streets and bumped the pace toward 6:20. Ultimately, I finished the race (13.25 miles) in 1:26:42. What that serves as my official half marathon time, I did go through the exact mark of 13.1 miles in 1:25:32.
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| I have hundreds of medals and ribbons, but this is the one that I'm proud of. Normally, I just toss them in a box, but this one's still displayed in our house! |
The Maine Half Marathon was, by far, my best race in years. There isn't even a close second place. I exceeded every expectation I had for myself and actually enjoyed the entire experience. The race simply could not have gone any better. It was exactly the performance I needed at this junction in the season. I've spent much of 2013 mentally drained because I've underperformed in more ways than I care to recount. To have a race play out perfectly - with, brace yourself, everything going according to plan - was such a relief. It's allowed me to exhale. It's refreshed my perspective on racing and allowed me to accept that it's okay to venture away from what I'm most comfortable with. Even more, it's demonstrated that by testing myself in new ways, I can actually propel myself forward in all aspects of racing (and, probably, outside of athletics, too).
Stay tuned for my latest adventure, where I REALLY step outside my comfort zone and try something (almost) completely new...
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