Race #138
8k #12
2017 Race #20
2017 8k #1
TreesGreenville Turkey Day 8k #8

So…before I get to the recap of today’s race, I have to admit that for the first time since I started running, I did not write a recap of a race that I ran. Last Saturday Mom and I ran the Tryon Half Marathon. Neither Mom or I felt particularly stellar on race day. For my own part, I was on the rough tail end of a cold that just wouldn’t let go along with a couple other minor temporary complaints. It had been a long, emotionally draining week. My only goal for that race was to go out and finish the race. Mission accomplished. Below are the stats for that race, just for reference.

Race #137
Half Marathon #44
North Carolina Half Marathon #8
2017 Race #19
2017 Half Marathon #9
Tryon Half Marathon #4
Final time – 2:02:27

Back to today’s race…

The week as a whole went much, much better. I felt better. I got in a couple speedwork sessions. The cold finally released its stranglehold. I felt confident that I could go ahead with my original plan for this race, use it as a test race for my goal 5k race which happens in a month.

I am glad that I did that. I learned a lot about myself as a racer.

When I put in my goal time into the race pace calculator, it spit out a goal pace of 7:15. I knew that would be tough but I wanted to see how well my body would hold up at that pace

Mom and I started together nearly at the front.

(We started behind the line, obviously.)

When the announcer gobbled to indicate the start I took off, feeling almost like a newbie. It has been quite a while since I have raced a short race. For so long as I have rebuilt after the injury and then trained for longer races, I start off at a more reasonable pace. This felt strange as I started that first mile. The pace felt fast but doable. I started to doubt that I would be able to keep up that pace, especially with the “hill of death” coming. (The hill that nearly kills me in mile 3 of the Greenville News Run Downtown 5k.)

Mile 1:https://flic.kr/p/GSnrSZ 7:13 (spoiler alert…this was the only mile that I achieved my goal pace)

When looking at the course map beforehand, it looked like the “hill of death” cropped up in the first mile. No, we got to start mile 2 with that hill. Thankfully though, the course turned onto McBee, halfway through the hill, so we did not have to run the entire hill. My pace definitely slowed during that mile and only gradually picked up through the second half of that mile.

Mile 2: 7:41

I expected my pace to slow down a little bit because of that hill and determined that I would negative split this course like a champ. If only that mental stamina had persisted.

The third mile of this race was the easiest mile mainly because it lacked any significant uphills. We also had a wonderful little downhill leading into Cleveland Park where we started running on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. I felt good but I think this was where I started to ease the mental push. I should have pushed myself harder here, just a little.

Mile 3: 7:29

I liked the fact that I had picked up the pace. I wanted to do that for the rest of the race. The course and my mental toughness did not cooperate.

Just before we exited Cleveland Park, I saw the uphill and remembered the uphill that challenges me every time. I had no desire to push even harder than I had been pushing up that hill. I knew how challenging that felt. The negativity started to creep in even before I started up that hill.

Then came the hill. I walked, twice, in that second to last mile. I couldn’t believe that I did that. The second time I tried to keep running but my body wouldn’t cooperate. As soon as my mind said that it was okay to walk, my legs eagerly complied with the order. I didn’t walk for long, maybe 15-20 seconds but I had lost the will to battle to the finish, to really shoot for that PR.

Mile 4: 8:06

When I reached that last mile I told myself that there was less than a mile left. I could negative split this last mile. I could push hard. I could get back to that goal pace.

I started off that last mile well. I pushed hard.

Then we turned onto East Broad. I have never run up that street. No one in their right mind would choose to sprint up that street, especially in the last mile of an 8k. That street held a nearly 50 foot elevation change in one block. I did not expect that last hill. Seriously? Yes, I gave in and walked again.

After mentally slapping myself, I took off again. I kept pushing even when we merged with the much slower 5k runners at the turn onto McBee when there was another small hill. As the 5k “runners” around me power-walked up the hill I pushed forward. This hill and that other short 10 second walk slowed my pace for this mile but I am much more pleased with the last mile than mile 4. Mile 4 was the worst mile of the race for me.

We finally made the turn onto Main Street and got to enjoy the downhill.

We didn’t finish on the downhill though. We had to go a little bit further past the downhill until the finish line just before the entrance to Falls Park.

As the finish line grew nearer I threw on a full out sprint and passed about 10 people, most of them 5k participants. I felt so strong through that final sprint and knew instantly that I could have pushed much harder through mile 4. I knew then that I had the fitness level for an 8k PR even on such a ridiculous course.

Mile 5: 7:35
Final time: 38:02 … Yes, I very much wish that I would have started my sprint just a little earlier.

Mom came in about 5 minutes later, looking strong and amazing.

Mom finished in 43:17

Final thoughts:
One of the first things that I thought after I finished was that I definitely needed to push myself harder in those last few miles. I felt fine, not even close to nauseated or in pain. That’s how you’re supposed to feel if you lay it all out there on the line for a short race.

It has been so long since I have raced a short race, really raced. For so long I have given myself an out and let myself run whatever pace that I wanted to run. While on one hand, it’s good to give yourself a break and not race every single race. That’s a recipe for burnout. On the other hand, every race can’t be this way, not if you want to push yourself to a PR.

Even though I did not reach my goal, I am glad that I was able to treat this race like a test race for my goal 5k coming up in a month. I know what I need to do. I know that I need to work on my mental toughness.

On the plus side, this is the first time that I have broken 40 minutes in this race, one of the few races that I have run every year since I started running. This is also my third fastest 8k time. The other two are my PR and one other Sunrise 8k where I ran only 2 seconds slower than my PR. To finish not feeling drained at all or like I had given anything close to full out effort? I’ll take that.

I feel reenergized and ready to full-out tackle the second half of my 5k training. Hilton Head be ready. I’m coming for you!