Thousand Miles to Salamanca

Fila Relays

LOG ENTRY

Distance: 5.5 miles (3 mile warmup or so)

I found myself more nervous than I thought I'd be prior to the start. Racing always freaks me out, which explains why I don't do it often.

So to warm up, I ran the course nice and easy. I felt cold and choppy. Never really was comfortable.

The nice thing about relays is you actually get to watch all the people you train with. It's so much fun! My teammates killed it which added even more pressure. Once our third runner took off I went and did some drills. Still, not too comfortable. To keep myself from freaking out I took off my watch.

Finally, I was off. My breathing was immediately heavy. But, all the distractions kept me going. I hadn't done an open relay where I wasn't the first leg so it was great to pass people and a way to occupy my mind (one more, two more, three more, etc...).

Made it to the turn around close to mile 1 and found myself getting concerned. I was gone. Fortunately I didn't have my watch to verify. At that point, the mind games started.

Should I slow down? Then a voice rang in my head: "Once you slow down, you're done." It was from the guy giving the bus tour at Grandma's Marathon. So I tried to pass some more people. Hit the hill through the Nature Conservatory. Thought about my pre-race strategy but wondered if I could stick to it since I felt so uncomfortable.

Then I got up on my toes, which I shouldn't have, but I just couldn't maintain my pace flat footed. Side note, the red racing flats aren't great for this distance or longer. Anyway, once I topped the hill I picked up some momentum. Then, once we were on Barton Springs Road, it was familiar territory. Still wanting to slow down I came to the conclusion that it was going to be painful and I accepted it. Then I picked it up and tried to pass some more people. I felt very strong on the gradual hill and once I passed the intersection between Stratford and Barton Springs I said: "What the hell?" and took off.

Ended up with a good time: 14:42 which is a 5:52 pace. But I'd have to say that this race was uncomfortable the entire time. If I had to guess it was a pretty consistent effort with the last mile being the fastest. Boy, those speed workouts really pay off for races like this. Familiar territory had a lot to do with it as well.

posted by Gray @ 8:48 PM