This race was to be the third weekend in row that I would be racing. I was excited to be able to be able to register for the Lake Run this year as it is a pretty large event in my BloNo community. I'm pretty sure I've only actually done this race once...back in 2009 I did the 12k and got 1:05:39 and 7th in my 25-29 age group. I knew I wouldn't have any issues beating that this time (as long as I made it to the start line in one piece I guess!) and wanted to place well overall. A couple of weeks before the race I started quietly looking at finishing times from previous years to get an idea of what I might have to do to place well in my age group or even overall. To be honest, I started to think about the possibility of an overall win but tried to push that thought away because I wasn't quite sure how realistic it would be. I was coming off of two big PRs (5k on 4.18.25 and 13.1 on 4.25.15) and was feeling rather beat up (*understatement*).
My right foot has been giving me grief for the past few months. The pain tends to move around in my foot, which is rather irritating. Most frequently it is around my midfoot in and around my arch on the inside of my foot. More recently it has moved to the outside of the foot as well. Last weekend (U of I half marathon), I tied my shoes a little too tightly (I didn't want the laces coming untied in the rain and also the extra tightness kind of felt "good" on my sore foot). After the race the top of my foot hurt (surprise!) from tying those laces too tightly and I had a gross raised bump on one of my tendons that not only hurt to touch but also moved around when you pushed on it (lovely ;)). So now, in addition to the suspected plantar fasciitis, I had a top-of-the-foot injury as well. Hooray for me! ;)
This past week, I babied my foot a bit. I didn't run at all after the U of I Half Marathon last Saturday until the Thursday night group run at Often Running. That night I ran 5 easy miles which didn't feel amazing but also didn't feel terrible. However, Friday morning I woke up in quite a bit of pain. I told Clint that it looked like I might be sitting the Lake Run out and just spectating/hanging out/volunteering (also something I love doing...especially when Clint is racing!). I stretched, iced, rolled my foot and took Ibuprofen throughout the day Friday and it gradually started feeling better. I toyed around with the idea of decreasing the distance and doing the 7k/4.37 mile race instead of the 12k that I was registered for. I wasn't crazy about that idea, though, because I knew that if I ran the 7k I would want to run harder to see how long I could keep up with friend and Often Running Racing Team teammate Karen :)...and I figured that if I was doing the 12k I could at least keep the pace a bit slower since it was a bit longer. Plus, if I dropped down to the 7k I would want to see Clint cross the finish line for the 12k that he was running...but the two races started at different times (12k at 8:30 and 7k at 9am) and so he would still likely cross the finish before I finished up the shorter loop. Logical? Who knows ;-). Lots of weird thoughts typically swirl around in my disorganized brain pre-race :-).
Saturday morning/Race Day I I felt "ok" and decided to dress as if I were racing and make a final game-day decision by 8am or so (the race start was at 8:30am). Clint and I picked up our good friend Molly (who I/we "bullied" into racing ;)) and headed out to the lake. Soon we met up with the rest of our Often Running Racing team members and stretched and chatted about the upcoming races. Some went out for a warm-up, but I planted myself on top of a picnic table to stretch and think about my game plan. I had eliminated the possibility of doing the 7k so it was down to a decision of doing the 12k or doing nothing at all. 15 minutes til race time, I removed my self from the top of the picnic table and joined the racers at the starting line...I decided to give it a go. Why not? If nothing else, I wanted to "earn" myself some pancakes for breakfast post-run!
Cruising in the Blue Chariot on our way to the lake...thanks for the silly pic, Clint :-).
I joined Clint at the front of the pack to wait right at the start (not sure that I belonged there, but whatever!). I told him that if he didn't see me finish that I just quit over on the other side of the lake and would be hanging out at Easter Seals' camp Timber Pointe and could he just come pick me up? ;) When the canon (ok, how awesome is it that there is an actual canon that starts this race?!) fired, I took off. I decided immediately that I would try to hold the other females off for as long as possible, just to see if I could. Admittedly, I really don't have a whole lot of knowledge in the way of actually "good" racing strategies...but I told myself that I should go out relatively hard for the first mile to get just as much of a lead on the other females as I could so as to hopefully make it harder to "catch" me. Again, this "strategy" might not be the most effective...but I figured I would experiment. Why not, right? You don't know what you have in the tank until you give it a go!
Mile 1 - 6:53. Maybe a liiiiittle fast for me, but I managed to grab the female lead right out of the gate! The weather felt good...a little on the warm side...but no complaints!
Mile 2 - 7:19. Yeah, that first mile was too fast. Oh, and my foot was burning...like radiating hot heat. I still had the female lead position and decided to *try* to hold my present pace. I tried to sneak glances over my shoulders to look for Aimee Dziekan (who I knew was close behind me!:-)) and other females, but didn't see anyone from the angle I was at (and didn't want to take the time for a long, careful look). Somewhere between miles 2 and 3 Larry Schumacher passed me and I decided to do my best to keep him in my sights for the remainder of the race....I knew from previous races that we ran similar paces.
Mile 3 - 7:17. Timber Pointe was somewhere around here. I thought for a split second about stopping to hang out with the llamas, but soldiered on. The burning in my foot was more subdued at this point and I felt decent. I fully expected the ever-strong Aimee to pop up over my shoulder at any moment but was allowing myself to feel pretty good about having led the female race for 3 miles. Somewhere between miles 3 and 4 I heard a female voice yelling "Car up!" as a warning to those of us ahead of her...and it wasn't very far behind me. I knew it was Aimee :-).
Mile 4 - 7:27. Carrying on. Slower, but still holding on to the lead. I heard the voice again shouting warnings of passing cars...and it seemed closer this time. Crap.
Mile 5 - 7:31. Man. It was a lot harder to hold the ~7:18 pace I had averaged the previous weekend in the half. I heard the voice again yelling, "Car up!"...but this time I felt like it actually sounded further behind me than before. Could it be?! I had already determined that if Aimee or another female caught me at this point I likely wouldn't fight it (very) hard. I was TIRED! Plus...the wind. Oh and it was getting roasty-toasty warm! Running sucks sometimes!!! ;-)
Mile 6 - 7:29. Slightly better than the last mile. Barely. Holding on to the lead...still. Somewhere around mile 7 the short loop (7k) runners overlapped with the 12k course. I saw my friend and teammate Andy who passed me shortly after I spotted him. I shouted something (encouraging?;-)) at him and he might've nodded a bit but carried on, wordless.
Mile 7 - 7:24. Time to get serious, foot pain or not. Somehow I had managed to hold on to the lead for 7 miles?! I would't be giving it up at this point! I dug in and chased Larry and the group of 3 other guys that were not far off in front of me. Here the course goes up a bit of a hill that is just enough to be annoying this close to the end. I pushed through and tried to keep my pace together as I climbed.
The final bit (0.52 by my watch) was run at a 6:52 average pace (which about mirrored my first mile pace)...so I feel good about that. As I neared the finish line I saw Clint waiting on my left and felt a twinge of deja vu from last summer's Dog Days race...minus the torrential sweat running down my body. He yelled something like, "get it Matyasse!" as he ran with me a bit and I did my best to finish as if I knew how to run....and indeed I was the first female finisher!
As soon as I crossed, a nice man from the Pantagraph, our local newspaper, stopped me for an interview (!!!). I mumbled as I tried to chug a water, hitting pause on the interview to run over and give a high-five to Jeff Hill, the superintendent of the ISU lab schools where I work, as he crossed the 7k finish with a 7:10 average pace. Way to go, Jeff!!
Here's a screen shot of the article that was in the paper...just one small typo (likely due to my mumbling and incoherency ;-)).
Also...holy close-up! HAHAHAHA! As the reporter took out his cell phone to snap a pic of me, I backed up a bit but he only moved closer. Yikes!!
Time - 54:47, average pace of 7:21...1st overall female and 20th finisher overall out of 230. I knew this finishing time was slower than previous years' overall female winners (last years' was 51:30 in a 6:54 average pace)...BUT it was still good enough to get it done today! I'll take it!
(*Interestingly this 7+ mile race was also faster than my Bix 7 PR of 56:42 which was set in 2010).
SO...three big weekends...a 5k PR and top female finish, a 13.1 PR by 11 minutes, and the top female finish at the Lake Run 12k! I think I've "earned" some time to rest my uncooperative foot.
A BIG highlight of this race was seeing THREE of our Metcalf Track/Run Club students at the race along with friend and coach Molly! The four of them ran the 7k and each one of them placed in his/her age group. WAY TO GO guys!! I am SO proud of each of them and for working so hard to run this race! Being Metcalf's track coach this year and starting up our first track program has been an adventure for sure and I'm so grateful to see so many students really enjoying running and even running outside of practices/meets! I expect to see these guys (and others, hopefully!!) out at other area races this summer!
So what's next? I'm doing my first triathlon (olympic distance) of the year in Knoxville, TN on Sunday, May 17 (Challenge Knoxville). I have no real goals except to "not drown" in the swim. Also, I would like to see how hard I can hurt during the final 10k/the run. Following this is Tri Shark on Saturday, June 6 where I would like to have an age group finish (though I am not sure that my biking and swimming this winter...or relative lack thereof...has earned me the right. We will see). After Tri Shark...we have Steamboat in Peoria on June 20 and then Park2Park 5 Miler in BloNo on July 4! I would also tentatively like to do the Main Street Mile again in Peoria on June 26. July also brings the fun-filled Saturday the 11th when Clint and I plan to tackle the Fisher Fair 5k in the morning, Dog Days in the evening and a race in Eldridge Iowa later that night. And then...time to BIX again like we did last summer (and 10 other summers prior to that if you're me! This will be my 12th Bix 7 in Davenport, Iowa!).
Followed by his REAL cool-down ;-) -
THANKS to Mitch and Often Running for the support and the privilege of being on the Often Running Racing Team, THANKS to Adidas for the sweet gear, THANKS to Challenge Family and my awesome Challenge Triathlon Team teammates for their support, and THANKS to my Clint for being my incredible run+life coach who has found the balance between pushing me to work harder and supporting me in my current abilities! THANKS to the race director of the Lake Run, Tod Williamson, for an awesome event as well as to all of the volunteers who made it happen yet again! Last but definitely not least, THANKS to our amazing running and multi-sport community in BloNo for supporting community events like the Lake Run and for pushing all of us and each other to be better and stronger.
Bring on the rest days, the healing...and the rest of a fun-filled season of swim+bike+running and learning along the way!
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