This past week leading up to this race I was pretty darn nervous (just ask Clint!). Seeing as it would be my first race wearing the Often Running Racing Team gear, I was putting some serious pressure on myself to not be an embarrassment :-). The weather was great this week and the forecast for today was gorgeous (61 degrees after weeks of winter dreariness!), so people started talking about how there would likely be a really great turnout for the race. "Great...more people to watch me trip or something equally as impressive," I told myself.
In January I had run a 21:09 at The Frosty 5k in Peoria which had frankly astounded me. Seeing splits in the 6's when I've been historically more of a 8-9 minute girl was a pretty big mental boost. I had set a goal for myself for 2015 to run a sub 21-minute 5k so getting so close just a few days into the year was encouraging. I went into today's race cautiously optimistic regarding besting that goal and setting a new PR in spite of the fact that I have been dealing with some irritating plantar fasciitis in my right foot (a first for me that may be a result of overzealous training in some new shoes).
Clint and I arrived at the VFW around 12:10 and located the team members who had already arrived (thanks, Gary, for securing us a table in the crowded room!). We chatted, took some pictures and got ready to head out for warm-ups. As I looked around the room I saw many familiar faces from our awesome running community which increased my excitement...and nerves.
I ran a nice, relaxed two-mile warmup with Clint and some other teammates and our friend Amber in the fresh warm afternoon air. I commented that my legs were so full of adrenaline that they felt like they were made of jello. "Seriously, Rachel. Pull yourself together! In the grand scheme of things...this isn't that big of a deal!" I told myself, somewhat irritated.
We made our way back into the crowded VFW to change into our racing flats (ok, truth be told...I'm so new to this racing game that the concept of having various pairs of shoes for different training and racing purposes is still a bit foreign...fun, but foreign :-)). I chose to don my shiny new pink and white Adidas mana 5s. In the interest of full disclosure I will admit that I had yet to wear them aside from the fitting a few weeks back at Often Running...a gamble, I know. I had every intent to run a mile or so in them and the other pair I was deciding between yesterday...but decided that yesterday was a yoga-only day secondary to the plantar fasciitis. The flats turned out to be a solid choice. Lightweight and comfy...they seem to fit my narrow and sometimes hard-to-fit feet well.
With 16 minutes to race time, I checked out the bathroom situation. The ladies' line was ridiculous (not that I was surprised) and since it was "just number one" and not exactly a dire situation if you know what I mean, I made the call to forgo the bathroom and head to the start, joking that I didn't really care if I peed my pants seeing as this would be repeat news for this triathlete ;-). Clint and I headed down to the start together and chatted a bit about the race to come...I'm grateful to have him around because he reminds me not to take myself so seriously, to relax and to enjoy all experiences.
We found places at the front of the field at the starting line and exchanged well-wishes with teammates, friends and acquaintances as we waited for the signal to take off and I did my best to keep my nerves in check. After a quick count down...we were off!
(Thanks to Emily Gomolchak for posting great pictures of today's event to the Lake Run Club Facebook page!)
Almost immediately upon crossing the start, the nerves were gone and I settled into my cadence. I watched Clint and others take off and kept that group in my sights for a while. My first mile was 6:37...lovely! Well...it was quickly apparent that this was a little too fast for me for today, as my split at mile 2 (where I saw Mitch cheering...thanks Mitch!) was 7:07. Whoops. Looks like I need to work harder on this pacing business. After seeing that split, I vowed that mile 3 would be faster! Turns out it was...though barely. I can't remember where, exactly, but somewhere between miles 1 and 2 my right foot (the one ridden with the darn plantar fasciitis) began talking to me with an annoying sensation similar to what I would imagine feeling if it were actually on fire. I did my best to cast all thoughts of it out of my mind. The race would be over soon enough, it could rest then.
Somewhere between mile 1-2 there was a spot where the course turned so you could see the first runners come back around toward the rest of the course for a few yards before turning to the right. Here I tried to count the women ahead of me to get an idea of where I stood with the other women...and I thought I counted 3. Later, after checking the results I realized that I must've missed one because I ended up finishing 5th female overall and no women passed me (I think) between mile 1 and the end.
As we neared mile 3 I could tell that Aimee Dziekan, a strong runner (and amazing triathlete and all-around person!) wasn't far behind me. I didn't feel as if I had a whole lot left but decided to dig deep and try to hold her off. I crossed mile 3 with a split of 7:03 (meh...I'm capable of better, I know!) and I heard some people on the sidelines cheering for Aimee. I felt as if her passing me was imminent but continued to push harder. Somehow I crossed the finish line a mere 5 seconds ahead of her...and immediately turned around to thank her for pushing me at the end!
After chugging a water, chatting with Clint and some other friends, I helped pass out water to finishers for a while with Clint. Seeing fellow runners with faces of pure exhaustion as well as obvious pride in what they'd accomplished was exciting and reinforced the fact in my mind that I'm so glad to be a part of this sport, our Bloomington-Normal running community and this team.
My overall finish was 21:31, 5th overall female, 2nd in the F30-34 age group and 41st out of 671 total finishers. Though a PR would've been nice and I know I'm capable of a faster time, I know that my body did all it could today and for that I'm grateful and satisfied. I'm looking forward to next week's marathon relay!
After the race, a bunch of us changed out of our racing flats and headed back out for a cool-down. I ended up walking past a student from the school where I teach who was walking with her mother. This student and her brother both have visual impairments and have no vision. She was excited to chat with Clint and I for a few minutes and liked checking out our GPS watches and showing off her new Alex + Ani bracelets (one of her fav things at school is checking out my bracelets :-)). Her mother told us that her big brother (remember...this guy has a visual impairment!) had actually just run in the race and she ran by his side. He had a goal of finishing in 45 minutes...and his mom told us that she had cautioned him to prepare to finish in an hour. Well, he finished in 43 minutes and was (rightfully so!) very proud of his accomplishment. THIS is an illustration of some of the biggest reasons why I love this sport and our running community...because we can all share a common love for running and for challenging ourselves while supporting our friends and neighbors, regardless of speed, age or ability.
Thanks so much first of all to Mitch for giving me the opportunity to join the impressive and FUN Often Running Racing Team and for your support. Thanks as well to Adidas for the sweet gear (love the ladies' purple long-sleeved tops especially!)...not only is it cute stuff, but it's all very functional as well. Thanks to the rest of my teammates for welcoming me onto the team and for giving me people to train with, race with and chase! Thanks to Clint for being an awesome coach. As Merlin Anderson said to me after today's race, "you're an entirely different runner than you were these past few years!" It's true...I've made some serious gains thanks to your advice and guidance this past year. I'm looking forward to putting in the work to hopefully continue to improve and to make this season the best yet. I'm so proud to be a part of this group with such talented and impressive runners and great sponsors.
Thanks, also to the Challenge Family team (Challenge Triathlon Team!) and my teammates and PowerBar Team Elite for their support and sponsorship as well. I'm honored to be a part of these outstanding organizations. I'm looking forward to a great rest of the 2015 season!
